Adrok Ltd is an award winning technology developer and provider of unique imaging and mapping solutions based on proprietary technology known as the Atomic Dielectric Resonance (ADR) Scanner.
The technology has been developed by Adrok’s founder and science director, Colin Stove, who has been successfully imaging ground targets from space for the UK government, the European space Agency, NASA and commercial organisations for over forty years.
This scanner has the ability to identify and image any substance down to molecular or atomic level. Adrok’s patented technology works by sending a narrow beam of energy into the ground using micro and radio waves and allows the depth penetration of this energy to be much greater than conventional methods.
There are two main markets where Adrok focuses its commercialisation efforts to apply its technology developments; Subsurface earth imaging (Geological) and Medical markets.
In the Geological market, ADR is applied to provide meaningful images of unique material classifications of the structure and the content of the earth’s subsurface (hydrocarbons, precious minerals, water).
The Business Challenge
Gordon Stove, Adrok managing director, said: “The contribution our technology can make is multifaceted. Very little of the Earth’s subsurface has been mapped to date and the potential of ADR technology could significantly improve this situation in terms of delivering dielectric readings of up to 80km below the surface, at a far faster and more economical rate than has previously been possible.”
The Earth’s crust is currently mapped through seismic technology, which measures the elastic property of rocks and is expensive in terms of time and equipment. The company sought academic expertise to develop a two dimensional ADR bore hole image to determine dielectric rock properties at depths that will help them understand the deeper tectonic processes that can cause earthquakes and other natural events.
The Solution
The firm was introduced to Dr Randell Stephenson, Reader in Geophysics at the University of Aberdeen through Interface – The knowledge connection for business, which helps partner some of the country’s most innovative companies with leading academics.
The geophysicists worked with Adrok to see whether the firm’s existing one-dimensional virtual borehole system could be developed to generate two-dimensional subsurface profile images.
After preliminary analyses funded through a Scottish Funding Council Innovation Voucher, Dr Stephenson comments: “We need to conduct further analysis to determine the full resolution potential of ADR technology; however, if a two dimensional subsurface geological image can be achieved at depths of tens of kilometres, we will have a novel way of complementing existing information and potentially a far deeper understanding of the tectonic processes that produce the geology we see at the Earth’s surface.”
The approach represents a major advance in physics with a competitive advantage for additional industries including minerals, water, life sciences, civil engineering, defence, security and industrial quality control.
Emtelle is the global leader in ducted network solutions and air blown fibre solutions. It produces small, lightweight and robust underground cabling systems, pioneering the next generation of broadband network solutions for FttH (Fibre-To-The-Home)
Recent communications contracts have included cabling the communications infrastructure to 7600 homes in Nuenen, in The Netherlands and for the Olympic Village in Athens in 2004.
The Business Challenge
A particular problem of underground cable management is the presence of water and moisture in the tubing which houses the fibre optic cables and Emtelle’s R&D team in Hawick has been looking to develop the next generation of polyethylene tubing with a greatly reduced water permeability rate. To do this, Emtelle required a recognised specialist working in the area of semi-permeable membrane technology.
“One of my colleagues had been sent a leaflet about Interface and the benefits for us were immediately apparent. We required a specific expertise and, based on our criteria, we contacted Interface who put us in touch with the School of Engineering at Glasgow Caledonian University,
Interface was the ideal catalyst in helping bring both parties together. Having previously worked with Heriot-Watt and Napier Universities on knowledge transfer partnership projects, we were aware that the external expertise we required probably existed within academia, but crucially, needed to find ways of uncovering the correct academic partner for this very distinct engineering project.” commented Phil Clayton, technical manager of Emtelle
The Solution
Interface identified that this area of expertise was available through The Glasgow Caledonian University’s School of Engineering and more specifically the Centre for Research on Indoor Climate and Health.
The centre’s Chris Sanders takes up the story.
“The contact that Interface made for us with Emtelle led to an interesting series of discussions and allowed us to develop a relationship with a new industry sector This enabled us to bring our expertise on moisture transport into a novel field. Interface plays a very valuable role in establishing contacts between specialised University groups and industrial organisations working in areas outside their usual field.”
A short-term consultancy project was agreed, enabling Emtelle to begin developing a superior product with ultra low water permeation rates. In short, Interface gave Emtelle access to knowledge outside the core expertise of its business that helped it onto the next stage of our product development cycle.
Phil Clayton added, “I believe that Interface is the perfect ‘trouble-shooter’. I would urge more companies and businesses to look closely at Interface to help cement the bond between academic talent and companies looking to further their product development. It really is a great opportunity to have Interface at your disposal.
The relationship made between universities and organisations have an important role to play particularly where complex problems and issues have to be resolved.”
Click here for more information on Emtelle.
Kanthal is the world’s leading manufacturer of resistance heating elements offering a broad spectrum of products for use in domestic home appliances to large high temperature furnaces. The company has a production unit in Perth and forms part of the multi-national Sandvik Group, a high-technology engineering group and one of the world’s largest manufacturers of resistance and electrical heating element materials.
Kanthal has manufactured silicon carbide heating elements for many years with two types – recrystallised silicon carbide and reaction bonded silicon carbide – dominating its product range.
The Business Challenge
Industrial users of silicon carbide heating elements place a great emphasis on the strength, and in particular, the bending strength of silicon carbide heating elements to offer greater robustness and versatility within the manufacturing process.
Stan Moug, Product Development Manager, Kanthal explains, “bending strength plays a key selling point for the company, particularly when vying for international business against strong competition in the USA and Japan.”
Strength of product is not just a requirement in the manufacturing process, but also in the global transportation and shipping of the product. For example, increasing demand for display glass used for applications such as plasma display panels, require longer and larger element lengths – anything from 2.5 to 3 metres are the norm, but longer rods, up to six metres in length are being demanded as the size of the panels used increases. Therefore, we have to be in a position to offer products that withstand the rigours of transportation and reach the manufacturer or specifier in one piece.”
Whilst Kanthal was able to carry out some areas of testing capability in-house, the company needed to conduct specific bending trials which measured the accuracy in three and four point bending strength of silicon carbide rods with diameters ranging between 20mm and 55 mm. This required fully calibrated materials testing equipment which gave accurate results. The fact that the measurements could be seen as impartial and independent was also seen as an advantage.
Kanthal initially contacted Scottish Enterprise Tayside, who referred the enquiry to Interface – The knowledge connection for business.
The Solution
Interface sourced assistance from across the Scottish academic community and made recommendations to Kanthal. The company opted to work with the School of the Built Environment at Napier University.
The academic, Alan Davidson, Lecturer in Materials Engineering, worked with Stan at Kanthal to evaluate the bending strength of the silicon carbide rods. A number of tests on over 300 rod samples were carried out and both Alan and Stan believed the results gave Kanthal encouragement to conduct further research into the manufacturing process of future silicon carbide rods.
Stan concluded, “Our industry is continually evolving and we need to look at ways of keeping ahead of our competition. Working with Napier University, with the help of Interface, has been a very worthwhile exercise and the working partnership we now have with Alan Davidson is proving very successful.”
“Personally, I found Interface very helpful. They asked the right questions and made sure they captured our specific requirements. Our search criteria can be very specialised and Interface managed to identify the best solution, on our behalf, before we commenced our partnership with Alan Davidson at Napier. This saved us a lot of time”.