Foundational Ideas
Having worked in technology innovation for two decades, Mike Oliver knew how rare it is to come across someone who sit squarely at the intersection of theory and practice - and that’s why he was so excited to meet Shakeb Deane in 2021.
Shakeb had published several academic papers on the use of Active Thermography for aerospace Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) and was in the process of completing his PhD in the subject which included significant breakthroughs in using low cost thermographic equipment to detect sub-surface material defects.
However, not happy with the theory alone, Shakeb had got busy prototyping, mounting thermal cameras and halogen lamps on drones and working out how to fly them safely around an in-hangar aircraft to rapidly check for any damage, surface or sub-surface, that may have occurred to the aircraft body during flight.
Unsurprisingly, Mike thought this was very cool!!
The Pivot
But there was a problem: the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) market for commercial aircraft is rightly very heavily regulated and the path to a commercial product would not be easy. Multi-year programs of testing and evaluation are not within the budget of the average startup, and, despite the potential efficiency gains, airlines were not keen to take a punt on funding a speculative new technology.
This is when the capabilities of Mike’s company, Easol, kicked into gear. Easol helps entrepreneurs find the right path to commercialisation by navigating through the maze of business, customer and technology challenges. Several market investigations later a viable initial market was found for Shakeb’s groundbreaking research:
In-process inspection for aerospace composites manufacturing.
Composite material manufacturing involves layering multiple fibre and resin layers to create the required thickness of material, curing the composite at high temperatures and pressures then machining the bonded material into the required shape. Although it is accepted that many things can go wrong during this process, due to the time and cost of traditional inspection methods, sub surface defect detection is normally only conducted at the end of the process. This can create a high percentage of defective parts, with a significant time and cost associated with reworking or remaking parts.
But what if there was an approach that could rapidly scan materials for significant defects earlier in the process? Reducing the value added to already defective parts would be a big win for manufacturing efficiency. And in contrast to the MRO market, an in-process inspection solution would complement, rather than replace, existing end-process inspection technologies. It would be another pair of eyes during production to help increase manufacturing efficiency, with all parts still going through the standard, regulated, inspection protocols before moving on to the next part of the supply chain.
Funding and collaboration
Easol identified the ATI’s SME Programme as a potential funding pathway to develop the promising technology into a prototype system for in-process inspection that could be tested in a manufacturing facility.
The ATI, in collaboration with Innovate UK, have an extremely supportive SME program, inviting initial pitches from all-comers and support those that pass the initial stages to make sure they align with the UK’s aerospace strategy and industry needs. Working with the ATI, Easol and Shakeb built the technology development plan, business case, investment strategy and collaborative team (including Southampton and Cranfield Universities, robotics specialist Createc and manufacturing partner Brookhouse Aerospace) and in July 2025, the ATI awarded funding to the project.
Seeing below the surface: launch announcements
In nature, Bullfrogs have an incredible, yet little know, capability: they have two different types of light receptors in their eyes allowing them to see via normal light above water, and via infrared light in the dark, brackish, waters where they swim.
Drawing inspiration from nature for our thermographic NDT solutions, today Easol makes two launch announcements: the launch of the ATI funded Bullfrog project and the startup, Bullfrog Technologies.
- Incubated within Easol, the ATI funded Bullfrog Project is a 2-year project to develop sub-surface, in-process, inspection technology for composite manufacturing using low-cost active thermography equipment.
www.easol.io/bullfrog - The newly formed startup, Bullfrog Technologies, will take to market the technology developed during the ATI funded project. www.bullfrogtechologies.com
We couldn’t be more excited to start working with our fantastic collaboration partners to turn this incredible technology into a tool for solving real world manufacturing challenges. If you are interested in aerospace composite NDT or want to find out more about Bullfrog’s capabilities, we would be delighted to hear from you.