Technology
HOW VIRTUAL REALITY AND DIGITAL TWINS ARE TRANSFORMING TUNNELLING
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ew tunnelling technology company hyperTunnel is revolutionising an industry which has seen little in the way of fundamental change in 130 years. Through technology transfer and digital transformation, this British startup is completely changing the way underground spaces are built, maintained, enlarged, and monitored. As a result, tunnelling projects are set to become more sustainable, less expensive, less time-consuming and commercially less risky – significant advantages when the world’s growing population has increasing need of underground transport and utilities infrastructure. hyperTunnel’s innovative new approach is made possible by adapting technologies from industries such as Formula 1, mining, oil and gas, chemistry and surveying. This lateral thinking comes directly from the company’s leaders, who possess expertise not only in civil and structural engineering, but also a broad range of other industries.
In fact, hyperTunnel co-founders Steve Jordan and Jeremy Hammond first saw the need to modernise tunnelling when jointly exploring a new approach to tidal-range energy. My professional experience encompasses nearly 20 years in top-level motorsport, working with the most advanced race car simulations, building digital twins for vehicle development and race strategy. And the chair of hyperTunnel’s technical board, Peter O’Riordan, led development of London’s Crossrail 2 scheme, the London section of the HS2 project, and the redevelopment and refurbishment of London’s St Pancras Station as part of HS1. The founders and staff majority-own hyperTunnel. Following a successful convertible loan note (CLN) offering earlier this year, the company is seeking further large-scale investment to develop the business globally. Swarming hyperBots hyperTunnel’s most radical departure
from convention is perhaps also its most surprising: whereas the age-old approach is to dig a hole and then build the tunnel, hyperTunnel first builds the tunnel, then digs the hole. The tunnel’s structural shell is constructed by sending hyperBots (semi-autonomous robots) into horizontal direction drilled (HDD) bores, where they perform tasks including data-gathering, drilling, spoil removal, and the deployment of composite construction material in an additive manufacturing process using the same principle as 3D printing. By using swarm construction techniques, hundreds or even thousands of hyperBots can work simultaneously at different locations, with the ability to pass each other to move freely. They work to a construction plan created by Artificial Intelligence which provides all key construction data, such as material strength, chemical volume, and location. This radically new approach results in extremely high productivity. VR and a digital twin All this is made possible by first gathering data to create a digital twin of the tunnel. This twin can be viewed in great detail and high-resolution through virtual reality (VR) on computer screens. And by using augmented reality (AR), it could be possible to attend a meeting in a room thousands of miles away from the tunnel to view its interior and see live data about the condition of the structure and surrounding geology. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves, because VR’s greatest value is in the preparation phase, and there’s nothing more important. As I learned in motor racing: ‘Remember the 63
