Quantum technology research centre opened in UK

London: Scotland's leading quantum technology research centre was officially opened here Tuesday with a launch event at Glasgow Science Centre.

QuantIC, the Quantum Imaging Centre brings together experts from the Universities of Glasgow, Bristol, Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt, Oxford and Strathclyde to commercialise cameras built with newly-developed quantum technology.

More than 30 industry partners will help QuantIC's imaging systems bring new benefits to the UK economy.

Around 100 visitors from academic, industry and funding councils will have the opportunity to learn more about QuantIC's potential and hear from speakers from organisations including the Scottish Funding Council, BAE Systems and M Squared Lasers.

Technology demonstrators already developed by the partnership will be on display including a camera which uses a cheap single-pixel sensor to create video images beyond the spectrum of visible light.

The camera can be tuned to make it sensitive to infrared or ultraviolet light, making it capable of visualising gas leaks, seeing clearly through smoke, or looking under skin for tumors.

The project, developed at the University of Glasgow in close collaboration with Glasgow-based M Squared Lasers, has the potential to create affordable handheld video cameras capable of seeing areas of the spectrum only previously visible with large and expensive devices.

Also on display will be a new camera, developed by researchers at Heriot-Watt University, which uses highly advanced photon-timing techniques to see through layers of organic tissue and a detector which uses springs ten times thinner than a human hair to image minute changes in gravity fields.

Professor Steve Beaumont director of QuantIC said: "We are proud and pleased to be officially opening QuantIC at the Glasgow Science Centre today and making contact with representatives of industries with whom we may partner in the future".

"The establishment of the centre at the University of Glasgow is an acknowledgement of the tremendous knowledge base we have in Scotland, including the world-leading James Watt Nanofabrication Centre, which will help create prototypes of new devices," Beaumont said.

"We've committed 4 million pounds of our funding to working with our industry partners to ensure these exciting new technologies can reach consumers and contribute to the economy," he added.

QuantIC is one of four new Quantum Technology Hubs which are sharing in 270 million pounds in funding from the UK Government over the next five years and is the only hub to be based in Scotland.

The centre will be funded by a 27 million pounds award from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).