About Us
History
Innoseis was founded in 2013 as a spin-off from the Gravitational Physics Group at Nikhef, the National Institute for Subatomic Physics in the Netherlands. Dr. Mark Beker and Prof. Dr. Johannes van den Brand’s research in seismicity and gravitational wave detection at Nikhef lead to the pair developing highly effective lightweight wireless seismic sensors, having huge potential for application in the energy industry. After significant interest in the advanced technology used in the seismic sensors from companies in the energy sector, Innoseis was founded. The cutting edge technology developed for particle physics experiments, that Innoseis carries out in conjunction with Nikhef, is used to produce Innoseis’ seismic sensors.
Technology
The Technology used in our seismic sensors is derived from particle physics experiments carried out in conjunction with Nikhef. Specifically the Virgo gravitational wave detector experiment that started operating in 2007.
Virgo aims to carry out the first direct detection of gravitational waves. These are minute distortions in the fabric of space-time predicted by General Relativity and caused by the violent events in the Universe (e.g. black-hole mergers). Even the smallest amount of seismic motion and seismically induced vibrations would upset Virgo’s ability to take accurate measurements. The team therefore needed to develop seismic sensing technology and elaborate electro-mechanical systems to suppress unwanted vibrations – by many orders of magnitude. It was during this process that we realised these technologies had applications outside of the area of pure research.
This deep scientific expertise sets us apart from our competitors. Our close association with institutes such as Nikhef means our team can easily work with some of the best scientific minds to imagine and implement new solutions to old problems. Innoseis specialises in re-thinking problems from first principles, enabling leaps forward that existing industrial players cannot achieve.