Description
Astronomical instrumentation regularly pushes the limits of science and engineering, enabling us to observe the Universe with ever-increasing precision, sensitivity and detail. The technologies developed for these extreme measurement challenges can also create impact beyond astronomy, with applications in medicine, environmental monitoring, mining, defence and space. This paper describes an Australian Economic Accelerator (AEA) Ignite project that aims to translate fundamental research in astronomical spectrograph calibration for radial-velocity measurements, into a handheld, field-deployable spectroscopy platform for critical mineral sensing. The project is being developed in partnership with Redback Systems, a Macquarie University spin-out company specialising in compact spectroscopic instrumentation.
The project uses a tuneable Fabry-Perot to enhance the resolution of a compact spectrograph. This approach aims to enable a high-resolution handheld instrument capable of field deployment, without requiring a larger or more expensive system. The paper will follow our pathway from market research, industry discussions, a demonstration at parliament house, and preliminary prototype testing.
The presentation will discuss early results and design trade-offs at a level appropriate for commercial and intellectual-property constraints. Particular attention will be given to the challenges of developing a robust field instrument for mining where vibration, calibration, and ease of use are just as important as spectral resolution. This work demonstrates how astronomical instrumentation can create new commercial pathways in resources, critical minerals, and field-deployable sensing.
| I am the presenting author | Yes |
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