U.K.-based researchers have, for the first time, field tested a quantum gravity surveying instrument that could potentially produce Google-type maps of the subsurface. By eliminating the "noise" of unwanted readings, the new sensor device developed at the University of Birmingham is claimed to be more accurate and up to 10 times faster than current instruments.
The team built its quantum gravity gradiometer into a mobile instrument and surveyed an underground concrete utility tunnel on its campus. Their results of their study were published in the scientific journal Nature last month. The team led the government-funded program as part of the National Quantum Technology Hub in Sensors and Timing, whose members include major U.K. universities and government labs.