Qvision2

Qvision2 is a continuation of the InnovateUK funded Qvision project which investigated the feasibility of commercialising microgravity QT devices in the utility market sector when integrated with the OXEMS system. Qvision2 is a collaboration between OXEMS and the University of Birmingham (UoB) to establish the Quantum Technology (QT) gravty sensor market combined with OXEMS integrated solution to support asset owners with the management of their assets focusing both on location and condition. Buried infrastructure, by their nature, is challenging to maintain and is often forgotten, following the approach of 'out of sight, out of mind'. Many geophysical technologies exist to detect buried assets, but these all have limitations, especially at greater depths (>3m). Previous research (e.g. SIGMA) has demonstrated the potential of QT gravity sensors for subsurface investigations. However, inversion of gravity data has always been challenging as the solutions are non-singular, i.e. a meadured gravitational field can be the result of small features close to the surface or a large feature further away. Qvision2 will use numerical modelling to address the inversion problem combined with machine learning. Moreover, the results will be integrated into OXEMS' platform pulling together different data feeds thereby providing a significantly richer set of information to asset owners.
Qvision2 will cover the potential impact on the UK economy of manufacturing British designed QT gravitational sensors for deployment alongside OXEMS integrated solution in the global market. This will be achieved by undertaking market and commercial testing with potential UK clients and an assessment of the relative competitive strengths of the proposed new integrated solution.

The beneficiaries from this research are diverse and include:
1.OXEMS' clients (e.g. asset owners)
2.civil engineers who can use the underground space more sustainably in their infrastructure designs and use minimal dig techniques as the location of the buried assets are known more precisely
3.UK-based and international academics.
4.the general public who will benefit from a reduction in streetworks due to the use of trenchless technologies and fewer 'dry' holes, which are dug in the wrong place without locating the buried asset
5.the environment as more infrastructure such as parking and shops can be moved underground freeing up surface space for an increase in green infrastructure
The inability of asset management companies to rapidly locate buried assets and evaluate their condition without the need for excavation has a negative impact on the global economy in the order of several billion US dollars annually. This is caused by both a lack of data on the assets actually buried and an inability to physically locate them. The OXEMS integrated system addresses both these issues by using physical tags buried with the assets when they are exposed and automatically linking them with data in any format to ensure maximum information about the assets and enabling absolute physical location. Its deployment is however limited to the rate at which assets are exposed, currently approximately 1% per annum. This is impacting takeup of the OXEMS system and highlights a need to find an underground asset management solution for clients which can be rapidly rolled out. Current solutions are varied, often complex, and do not address the complete challenge of underground asset management. Qvision2 aims to continue investigating the potential for microgravity QT devices but to broaden the future market focus from utilities to all other markets that have a need to survey underground structures, such as rail networks (e.g. HS2), highways infrastructure (including enhanced Building Information Modelling 'BIM'), mining, archaeology and construction projects. Qvision2 will explore how the layered data and ROI models should be adapted for this broader market, as well as understanding the route to achieve this commercialisation (roadmap)
Qvision2 will take an integrated system to market via OXEMS' existing channels (direct and via commercial partners). The total market (including software and services) is expected to be several billions of dollars. In addition, the end-users are being engaged early on in the QT sensor development process opening a channel of communication between the physics researchers and the end-users. Furthermore, the practitioners' clients will be able to see the potential of the new QT sensors based on the developed forward models thereby ensuring a demand for these sensors once they become market ready and also providing confidence in their capabilities. The focus of the QT roadmap for civil engineering has, to date, been on geophysical surveying for a range or different targets including buried utilities. Qvision2 will provide an alternative route to market for the QT gravity sensors. The engineering driven research takes into account user needs, promoting industrial adoption and generating social and economic impact, e.g. by reducing urban traffic congestion with better underground intelligence. The essential step is to build sufficient commercial confidence in a "spooky" and potentially disruptive quantum technology to unlock further industrial investment.
The academics will benefit by being involved in such a prestigious, multi-disciplinary project which has the potential to make a tangible difference in the future. It further addresses an issue that the public is familiar with in respect to streetworks & associated traffic delays. This will help to further raise their profiles in the academic community & through the industrial collaboration, connections will be developed which will be beneficial for future projects.