GRAM - Gravity for Rivers, Agriculture and Mines

即将问世的基于量子技术(Qt)的重力传感器有可能通过显著提高测量灵敏度来颠覆现有的测量实践。GRAM是e2v、RSK、运河和河流信托基金、煤炭管理局、克兰菲尔德大学和伯明翰大学(UOB)的合作伙伴，旨在建立量子技术(Qt)重力传感器市场机会，以应对当前地球物理技术的评估，以确定精准农业的土壤压实、检测废弃矿井和矿井的水位以及运河和河流堤坝渗漏检测。GRAM将在已确定的行业中对现有传感器技术的能力进行基线评估，向原型和商用QT重力传感器的制造商提供技术规格和性能要求，并从最终用户那里建立对传感器产生的信息的市场拉动。此外，它还将提供市场规模和市场渗透率评估，以确定潜在市场的规模、分析竞争对手和确定每一种应用的成本范围以及预期的调查方法。目前，地球物理传感器在这三个应用领域都在商业上使用，但它们要么受到就地安装的局限性(如地球电阻率层析成像探头)的影响，因此无法覆盖大面积、深度渗透和分辨率(如探地雷达、Scintrex微重力仪器)，要么含有放射源(核密度计)。这限制了积极主动的资产管理(土方工程)、由于不可预见的地面条件(地雷/矿井)而安全开发棕地场地和HS2等大型基础设施项目，以及由于土壤健康状况不佳而增加粮食产量(精准农业)。Qt重力传感器有可能提供有关水流、水位和土壤压实的信息。GRAM将通过以下方式开拓这些新市场：1)确定QT重力传感器在土方工程、矿山/矿井水位检测和土壤压实测定方面的市场潜力，将其与目前在这些部门使用的最先进的地球物理仪器进行基准比较；2)开发新的正演和反演技术后处理技术，以识别感兴趣的信号并展示QT传感器的潜力；3)进行实地试验，以证明现有传感器的实际能力和局限性，以确定QT传感器的工作空间；4)评估QT重力仪器在这些应用中的市场；5)为这三种应用制定传感器规格。GRAM将通过两种方式加速QT重力仪器的商业化：1)通过提供传感器配置和性能参数，特别关注时延评估，确保传感器开发和系统工程工作生产出适合用途的仪器；2)通过与尚不熟悉QT传感器的新客户群接触、出色的传播活动和实际现场演示，增加传感器的市场。

The coming gravity sensors based on Quantum Technologies (QT) have the potential to disrupt existing surveying practices through dramatically improved measurement sensitivities. GRAM is a collaboration between e2v, RSK, the Canal & River Trust, the Coal Authority, Cranfield University and the University of Birmingham (UoB) to establish the Quantum Technology (QT) gravity sensor market opportunities against assessment of current geophysical technologies to determine soil compaction for precision agriculture, detection of water levels in disused mines and mineshafts and canal & river embankment leak detection. GRAM will baseline the capabilities of existing sensor technologies in the sectors identified, provide technical specification and performance requirements to the manufacturers of prototype and commercial QT gravity sensors and establish a market pull from the end users of the information generated by the sensors. Moreover, it will provide a market sizing and market penetration assessment to determine the size of the potential markets, analyse the competitors and determine the cost brackets for each of the three applications together with expected survey methodologies.Currently, geophysical sensors are commercially used in the three application areas, but they suffer either from localised in-situ installation (e.g. Earth Resistivity Tomography probes), thus not being able to cover large areas, depth penetration and resolution (e.g. Ground Penetrating Radar, Scintrex microgravity instrument) or contain a radioactive source (nuclear density gauges). This limits proactive asset management (earthworks), safe developments of brownfield sites and large infrastructure projects such as HS2 due to unforeseen ground conditions (mines/mineshafts) and increased food production due to poor soil health (precision agriculture). QT gravity sensors have the potential to provide information on water flow, water levels and soil compaction. GRAM will open up these new markets by: 1) Establishing the market potential for QT gravity sensors for leakages through earthworks, water level detection in mines/mineshafts and determination of soil compaction by benchmarking it against the most advanced state-of-the-art geophysical instrumentation currently used in these sectors; 2) Develop novel forward modelling and inversion techniques post-processing techniques to identify the signal of interest and demonstrate the potential of QT sensors; 3) Undertake field trials to demonstrate the real-world capabilities and limitations of existing sensors to identify the operational space for QT sensors; 4) Assess the market of QT gravity instruments in these applications and 5) Develop sensor specifications for the three applications. GRAM 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 with particular focus on time-lapse assessment and 2) increasing the marketplace for the sensors by engagement with a new client base not yet familiar with QT sensors, excellent dissemination activities, and practical field demonstrations.