11.01.2024

Revolutionizing Real-Time On-Board Data Processing

i-RASE Project Selected by the European Innovation Council

Press release dated December 4^th, 2023

i-RASE (Intelligent Radiation Sensor System), a pioneering project with a strong contribution by the IAAT has been recently selected for funding under the EIC Pathfinder Open call 2023.

i-RASE sets out to design, build, test, and implement a photon-by-photon imaging radiation detector combined with real-time data processing based on artificial intelligence. This breakthrough technology holds transformative potential for applications in medical imaging, industrial inspection, space instrumentation, environmental monitoring, and more. At the core of the project is the development of physics-inspired artificial neural networks (ANN) for comprehensive sensor signal processing and real-time measurement of radiation interactions.

The project will focus on several main aspects, each contributing to the overall goal of creating an intelligent radiation sensor system:
•    Advanced Signal Processing: i-RASE will pioneer new machine learning (ML) and ANN algorithms for signal processing from radiation detectors. This involves creating novel methods, mathematical sensor models, and optimizing electrode geometries.
•    Ultra-Low Noise Converters: To ensure compatibility with ANN, the project aims to design and implement ultra-low noise sensor signal converters. This includes developing advanced hardware designs, custom circuitry, and optimized components.
•    Laboratory Validation: The project will focus on developing and optimizing a demonstrator setup to test and validate the performance of the system. This includes creating testing equipment, procedures, and custom software tools for accurate measurement and interpretation of experimental results.

i-RASE brings together researchers and companies in photonics, detector physics, signal processing, ANN, and digital hardware design. The collaboration, led by DTU Space in Denmark, involves besides the Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Tübingen and the Politecnico di Milano also the companies IDEAS (Norway) and KROMEK (UK) that produce commercial radiation detector solutions.

i-RASE's overarching aim is to establish and develop a scalable and sustainable System-in-Package for real-time radiation detection and imaging in high data rate applications, filling a technological gap where so far no universal solution meets all of these requirements.