Hyperspectral Imaging

Completed

Other Power and Storage Technologies(Electricity transmission and distribution)

Applied Research and Development

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Electrical and Electronic Engineering)

Not Cross-cutting

Project Contact
Electricity North West Limited

Network Innovation Allowance

Ofgem

01 January 2022

31 July 2023

ENA months

£275,000

Power

North West

Network Innovation Allowance

Project Contact, Electricity North West Limited

Phase OneFollowing review of related prior work, this will involve the identification of appropriate, commercially available hyperspectral camera suitable for identification of chemicals of interest (hazardous contaminants) within soil, e.g. with spectral range including key characteristic features. This will then progress to the identification and development of processing techniques to identify and quantify contaminants. Creation of necessary code to acquire data from hyperspectral camera, process data, and sentence imaged soil. Phase One will conclude with experimental trials to demonstrate the efficacy of the system and to train any appropriate machine learning for predictive analysis.Phase TwoDesign and development of the most cost-effective solution for the deployment of the camera and system in line with customer requirements.  This project will consist of two phases, the first will be a development phase were testing is carried out to demonstrate the capability of the device. This will be followed by a series of field tests to confirm suitability for use in real world conditions Trial the use of hyperspectral imaging for detecting and classifying contaminants in spoil.Demonstrate the ability to utilise this technology under field conditions

Until now utility companies have come under an exemption in the regulations around the classification of excavated waste from utilities installation and repair. This exemption comes to an end in June 2022, and following a transition period it will be necessary to classify spoil and process any contaminated/hazardous material in line with environmental regulations.This project will look to prove that existing hyperspectral imaging technology can be used to detect contaminants in spoil under laboratory conditions at the levels needed to meet the standard. Once this has been completed the project will look to develop a prototype, handheld device suitable for use on site and carry out field trials.

02/11/22