REVEAL

REVEAL is a collaboration between e2v, RSK, Gooch Housego (G&H) and the University of Birmingham (UoB) to develop and trial the first commercial prototype QT gravity gradiometer sensor. It builds on the successful InnovateUK SIGMA/SIGMA+ & FreezeRay/FreezeRay2 projects. SIGMA/SIGMA+ have already developed tools (forward models, improved understanding of noise sources) to provide a more informed assessment of the detectability of targets of interest to their clients. The FreezeRay projects have already enabled e2v and Gooch & Housego to develop sub-systems for quantum gravimeters based on UoB knowledge and expertise. The specific developments within the FreezeRay projects have enabled the consortium to develop the core systems required for a quantum sensor. REVEAL will, for the first time, build an industrial gravity gradiometer prototype based on the knowledge gained at the UoB and through IUK projects and place it in the hands of an expert geophysical surveying company. This is the next logical step for the route to market of these instruments. As well as opening access to the QT research market, this primarily provides a direction towards the creation of a commercial QT supply chain in the UK - aiming to enhance the uptake by industry, and alongside demonstrations, create market growth and wealth creation.

To achieve the aim of a first commercial QT gravity gradiometer prototype, REVEAL will focus on the following key steps: 1) Development of ruggedized laser and control systems, 2) Creation of a sensor platform including a vacuum system, 3) System integration into a mobile, transportable unit suitable for civil engineering applications, 4) Knowledge transfer from UoB to e2v and G&H for the sensor requirements and 5) Field trials and survey optimisation to feed back into the sensor development requirements and benchmark against existing geophysical systems.

REVEAL will accelerate the commercialisation of QT gravity instruments in two ways: 1) ensuring that the sensor development and system engineering efforts produces instruments that are fit for purpose by providing sensor configuration and performance parameters, 2) increasing the marketplace for the sensors by engagement with the client base, excellent dissemination activities, and practical field demonstrations of prototype equipment capability and 3) demonstrating what can be achievable from a commercial system with respect to sensitivity, resilience, size, weight and cost.

The beneficiaries from this research are diverse and include:
1. RSK's clients (e.g. civil engineering consultants, town planners, utility companies, councils, Highways England, major projects (HS2, Thames Tideway, nuclear industry))
2. surveying practitioners (e.g. RSK & others)
3. e2v, G&H and members of the supply chain for quantum technologies, who will benefit from new capabilities and future revenue streams.
3. e2v's clients who will ultimately purchase the QT gravity gradiometers and utilise these in many (civil) applications.
4. civil engineers who can use the underground space more sustainably in their infrastructure designs
5. UK-based and international academics.
6. the general public who will benefit from a reduction in streetworks due to the use of trenchless technologies and fewer surprised, undetected mine shafts
7. 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 short-term impact of REVEAL will be the development and trial of the first commercial prototype QT gravity gradiometer together with appropriate survey strategies & post-processing algorithms to minimise the time gravity surveys take combined with advanced data analysis. In this way, not only will the improved sensitivity & resilience make a difference to the detection of different targets, but the advanced speed of survey will also increase the demand for gravity surveys as the total cost reduces.
In addition, the end-users are being engaged early on in the sensor development process opening a channel of communication between the physics researchers, the systems integrators and the end-users. This is vital to ensure the developed sensors are useable in harsh civil engineering environments, & to mitigate the requirement of highly skilled operators. Furthermore, the practitioners' clients will be able to see the potential of the new QT sensors based on the forward models ensuring a demand for these sensors once they become market ready & also providing confidence in their capabilities. REVEAL will accelerate the QT roadmap & increase industry's confidence in the technology as it will continue to translate the developments from the UoB to e2v and G&H. The engineering driven research takes into account user needs, promoting industrial adoption & generating social & 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" & potentially disruptive QT to unlock further industrial investment.

On a 10-50 year timescale, the QT sensors could revolutionise a wide range of industrial processes, as diverse as resilient communication networks; structural analysis (e.g. aerospace); functional analysis (e.g. electronic components); improved oil & gas recovery; CO2 sequestration supervision; construction work using underground space; detection of sinkholes & assessment of the condition of dams in flood prevention.

The PDRAs will gain enormously by working on a multi-disciplinary project with a clear, practical application & active interaction with the partner companies on the project on a professional level. This will undoubtedly make them much more marketable & employable in the future. 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, & also through job creation within industry. It was already demonstrated by SIGMA/SIGMA+ & FreezeRay/FreezeRay2, that these types of projects can generate significant interest outside the physics community in QT as it focuses on the early adopters of the technology & sparks people's imagination. 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.