Image Credit: IM Photo (edited)

What do we do?


Our research focuses on the study of the magnetic field recorded in urban environement. We are particularly interested in applying novel technology to identify individual magnetic signatures seemingly undistinguishable from environmental noise.



What novel technology?


The technique consists of using an array of magnetometer sensors and perform coherent search of magnetic transient events. Sensor-network technology has proved to be very efficient in identifying signal that are not detectable by a single instrument. A very famous example of using such technology is the discovery of gravitational waves by the LIGO collaboration where they used a network of laser interferometers.

What type of signal can we see?


It depends how many stations are in the network and how far away they are from each other. The dominant source of magnetic noise in a city usually comes from the public transportation system. However, once you understand that pattern and carefully subtract it from the data, you can start identifying underlying coherent signals.



How do we analyze the data?


Until now, the data were analyzed manually mostly using wavelet transform analysis and cross-correlation algorithms. We are currently developing a machine learning framework to automate the data analysis process and enable predictive analysis on the streaming data.

Applications


Berkeley Study


Our original sensor network was deployed in the city of Berkeley, California. We applied cross-correlation algorithms to identify and monitor daily fluctuations from the local subway system and developed a time-series feature extraction technique to subtract this dominant source of magnetic noise from our data. We have also started to built a library of magnetic signatures that will be used to train our machine learning algorithm currently under development.


"Network of sensitive magnetometers for urban studies", T. Bowen et al.

Magnetic Solutions


We are proud to mention that our network has found specific applications for various research projects within the UC Berkeley community. Specifically, our network was used by the Berkeley geophysics group to show that their seismometers were, in fact, picking up magnetic signals from the local subway system, thus being subject to a significant source of noise and systematics. In a separate occasion, we applied our "urban" magnetometry network to help researchers at the UC Berkeley Mechanical Engineering Department to characterize a novel rotating-electret antenna for potential use for communicating with workers trapped in underground mines.

NYC Deployment


As of October 2017, our network has been deployed in downtown Brooklyn in the Center of Urban Science & Progress (CUSP). So far, our preliminary results show distinct variations in the magnetic field compared to the data taken in Berkeley. Most of the signatures we see in our data comes from human activities which are yet poorly understood. Using our network, we aim to measure the urban dynamics due to human activity and correlate any identified signatures to other aspects of urban life, e.g. energy consumption, pollution.

Our Group






Dr. Vincent Dumont

Research Associate
@ UC Berkeley




Prof. Dmitry Budker

Physics Professor
@ Johannes Gutenberg-Universität
@ Helmholtz Institut Mainz
@ UC Berkeley
@ Berkeley Lab




Prof. Jonathan Wurtele

Physics Professor
@ UC Berkeley




Prof. Stuart Bale

Physics Professor
@ UC Berkeley
@ Space Science Laboratory





Mr. Trevor Bowen

PhD Student
@ UC Berkeley
@ Space Science Laboratory




Mr. Roger Roglans

PhD Student
@ UC Berkeley
@ Space Science Laboratory




Dr. Arne Wickenbrock

Research Associate
@ Johannes Gutenberg-Universität
@ Helmholtz Institut Mainz




Collaborators






Dr. Chris Pankow

Research Associate
@ Nortwestern University
@ CIERA




Prof. Gregory Dobler

Physics Professor
@ New York University
@ CUSP




Mr. Mohit Sharma

Associate Research Scientist
@ New York University
@ CUSP




Dr. Andy Karpf

Research Project Manager
@ New York University
@ CUSP




Former Group Member






Dr. Lena Zhivun

Research Associate
@ University of Wisconsin-Madison


Infrastructure


Get in touch


Feel free to contact us if you are either interested to join our group or simply want to know more about our research.

+1 (808) 498-8047

275 Birge Hall
University of California, Berkeley