Phonon Systems iconPhonon Systems
Autonomous vehicle, trailer and mobile robots on a bridge
Surface intelligence, made autonomous

Pinpointing leaks from the surface, straight to dig.

Phonon is developing a new leak detection workflow built around multi point acoustic measurement and real time correlation. The aim is to replace expensive fixed logger deployments with a surface based system that can localise leaks directly, faster and with far less manual effort.

See the concept About the team
Why this matters

Current leak detection workflows are expensive, labour heavy and still often need a second pass.

Acoustic loggers can narrow down a search area, but they are costly to roll out and maintain across a network. They also rarely finish the job. Crews still need to go back out with ground microphones and listening sticks to pinpoint the leak, adding more time, cost and disruption.

DMA wide deployments Battery maintenance Repeat site visits Approximate location only
Prototype status

A working prototype with a clear path to autonomy.

Phonon already works in prototype form. We have demonstrated that leaks can be found from the surface using specialised microphones and real time correlation, with multi point synchronisation working to under 500 microseconds over a proprietary wireless system.

<500 µsSynchronisation demonstrated across the measurement system.
Real timeCorrelation based localisation already working in prototype form.
Single pass goalFrom survey to precise excavation point without a follow up sweep.
Phonon approach

Use off the shelf autonomous platforms. Add the sensing and localisation layer.

Phonon is not looking to develop autonomous vehicles itself. The strategy is to work with mature, off the shelf mobility platforms such as those from Tesla, Waymo, Zoox, AV Ride and Starship Technologies, then add the specialist sensing needed for leak localisation.

Surface based measurement

Measure from the road surface instead of attaching large fleets of fixed devices to the pipe network.

Multi point correlation

Use synchronised acoustic measurement to localise the source directly rather than only narrowing down a search area.

Quiet operating window

Leak detection is most effective during low usage periods, typically overnight and early morning, when background noise and water usage is lowest. Conveniently, this is also when there is little or no demand for delivery robots and self driving taxis.

Platform examples

Representative autonomy platforms that fit the model.

These are not formal partnerships. They are examples of the kind of established mobility systems Phonon is designed to sit on top of as the concept develops into a fully autonomous survey workflow.

Illustration representing a Tesla platform

Tesla

High volume road platform with large unused overnight capacity.

Illustration representing a Waymo platform

Waymo

Robotaxi model suited to repeatable urban routes and scheduled night operations.

Illustration representing a Zoox platform

Zoox

Purpose built autonomous mobility platform for structured urban coverage.

Illustration representing an AV Ride platform

AV Ride

Another example of an off the shelf autonomy partner rather than something Phonon would need to build itself.

Illustration representing a Starship delivery robot

Starship

Compact delivery robot format that fits low speed, low noise surface inspection.

Where this goes next

Partnerships, backing and expansion into a fully autonomous system.

The next stage for Phonon is not inventing more vehicle hardware. It is building the right partnerships and securing the backing needed to integrate the acoustic localisation layer into real world autonomous platforms and expand the system from a working prototype into a deployable product.

Phonon is designed to move leak detection away from expensive fixed infrastructure and toward mobile, surface based, direct localisation.