ENGINEERING & INNOVATION
Pushing the boundaries of measurement
Gill R&D works with organisations to explore new measurement possibilities, develop sensing technologies and turn demanding requirements into practical, manufacturable solutions.
From early feasibility and proof of concept through engineering, prototyping, validation and production, we bring science and engineering together to take an idea from what if? to what works.
FROM REQUIREMENT TO REALITY
Start with the question. Build towards the answer.
Bespoke development is rarely a straight line. The measurement may be unfamiliar. The environment may introduce variables that do not exist in controlled conditions. The final product may need to fit an existing mechanical, electronic or software architecture.
Gill brings the disciplines together to work through those questions systematically, from the first investigation through to a solution that can be tested, manufactured and deployed.
FEASIBILITY
First, understand what needs to be measured
Before a product is designed, Gill R&D investigates the measurement itself.
What physical phenomenon are you trying to detect? What affects the signal? Which variables matter most? What could compromise accuracy or repeatability?
The team can explore the underlying physics, assess potential sensing principles and establish whether a proposed approach is technically viable.
TECHNOLOGY
Find the principle that fits the application
There is no value in forcing an application into a technology simply because that technology already exists.
Gill R&D works across ultrasonics, capacitance, electromagnetics, optical sensing and signal processing, selecting or combining approaches according to the measurement requirement.
The aim is to find a route to the required performance, environmental resilience and integration.
CONCEPT
Turn the measurement into an engineering architecture
Once a viable approach has been identified, the work moves from scientific investigation into product development.
Sensing elements, electronics, signal conditioning, power, communications, firmware and mechanical design can all be considered as part of the same system.
Modelling and simulation can be used to explore behaviour before hardware is committed, helping the team understand the important variables and make better development decisions earlier.
PROTOTYPE
Get something real on the bench
Rapid prototyping turns concepts into working hardware.
That provides something much more useful than a promising theory. It creates something that can be measured, challenged, refined and tested against the requirement.
Gill can develop prototype electronics, embedded software and mechanical assemblies together, allowing the sensing approach and the product around it to evolve as the understanding improves.
VALIDATION
Prove what it can actually do
A prototype that works in one set of conditions is not necessarily a product.
Gill evaluates measurement performance alongside the conditions the finished instrument will experience, including environmental, mechanical and electrical demands.
Where specialist certification or independent testing is required, Gill works with accredited external facilities for requirements including ATEX, IECEx, EMC and IP.
MANUFACTURE
The engineering has to survive the factory too
A successful development needs to become something that can be manufactured consistently.
Gill R&D works closely with manufacturing to consider design-for-manufacture, component selection, production methods, quality requirements and scalability.
The objective is not simply to prove a concept. It is to create a product that can be built, tested, deployed and supported.
One requirement. One connected development path.
BESPOKE AND OEM DEVELOPMENT
Your application doesn’t have to fit the catalogue
Gill develops bespoke sensing solutions for OEMs and organisations with requirements that cannot be met by an off-the-shelf instrument.
A bespoke development might begin with an existing Gill technology that needs to operate somewhere new. It might require a substantially different physical architecture. Or it might begin with a measurement that has no established product solution.
A finished sensor may have to deal with temperature variation, moisture, vibration, shock, contamination, electromagnetic interference, confined installation space or limited available power.
Those conditions are considered during development, not added to the checklist at the end. The application sets the conditions. The engineering responds.
When the application doesn’t look like the datasheet
Unusual environments
Extreme temperatures, immersion, contamination, aggressive materials or demanding atmospheric conditions.
Tight mechanical constraints
Where the sensor has to fit a precise envelope, work around existing hardware or minimise size and weight.
Specialist performance
Where range, accuracy, resolution, response time or environmental performance pushes beyond an existing product.
OEM integration
Where the sensor becomes part of another company’s product and must meet defined mechanical, electrical, software or production requirements.
Specialist communications
Where the measurement needs to fit a particular communications or control architecture.
New measurement requirements
Where the application requires a sensing capability that does not currently exist as a standard product.
Gill’s bespoke development experience spans demanding applications including defence, mining, marine, motorsport, medical and specialist industrial sensing.
START WITH THE PHYSICS
The best solution starts with understanding the measurement
A requirement can look straightforward until the variables around it are understood.
Temperature changes. Material properties. Vibration. Contamination. Geometry. Electrical noise. Flow. Motion. Installation constraints.
Gill R&D investigates the physical behaviour behind the measurement and the factors that can affect it, helping identify which sensing principle has the strongest route to a reliable result.
Ultrasonics
Using acoustic behaviour and precise signal interpretation for applications where timing, propagation and environmental conditions influence the measurement.
Capacitance
Detecting changes in electrical capacitance for applications such as liquid level and specialist bespoke sensing.
Electromagnetics
Using electromagnetic principles where material properties, position or operating conditions create opportunities for non-contact or specialist measurement.
Optical sensing
Using light to detect physical phenomena where non-contact measurement or mechanical isolation is advantageous.
Signal processing
Interpreting complex signals, suppressing unwanted effects and extracting the information needed to produce a useful measurement.
The technology is chosen around the requirement.
Not the other way round.
See how the technology worksPROOF OF CAPABILITY
The best bespoke engineering has a job to do
Gill’s R&D capability supports development across demanding environments including defence, marine, mining, motorsport, medical and industrial applications.
The work can range from adapting established measurement technologies for a new environment to developing entirely new sensing approaches around a customer’s requirement.
MOTORSPORT
A rear wing position sensor for Formula One DRS
Developed to match the shape, size and mounting of a leading F1 team’s rear wing. It sits inside the end plate and reads the wing position through the carbon fibre wall, with no linkages and no effect on aerodynamics.
Technology Inductive position
MINING
An intrinsically safe oil level sensor for an 85-tonne coal shearer
Designed to a mining machinery manufacturer’s exact requirements for the ranging arm gearbox, working deep underground. Stainless steel, built for dust and vibration, and certified Ex I M2 Ex ia I Mb (-40 °C to +100 °C), IECEx BAS 09.0169X.
Technology Capacitive level
INDUSTRIAL PROCESS
A hydraulic oil level sensor for a cement grinding mill
A one-piece 316 stainless steel sensor for the grinding wheel bearing housing of a new mill prototype, sealed to IP68 for full submersion. The customer also wanted oil temperature, so a PT1000 element was designed into the probe tip.
Technology Capacitive level and temperature
OFFSHORE ENERGY
A three metre level sensor for offshore wave height
Gill level sensors typically run from 30 mm to 1500 mm. A wave energy device at an offshore wind farm needed three metres in salt water, so the flange was strengthened and welded and the sensor built in 316 stainless steel.
Technology Capacitive level
MANUFACTURING
A titanium dipstick sensor for a gearbox production line
A major US manufacturer needed a single-dip, go or no-go oil check fast enough for line speed. The probe was made in titanium to resist wear through the aluminium casing and stay light in the operator’s hand all shift.
Technology Capacitive level
DEFENCE
Detection devices for counter‑IED work
Bespoke detectors developed alongside government defence research agencies, built to survive crushing, impact and shock, and trialled and deployed by government agencies. Secure development areas and security-cleared staff support confidential projects.
Technology Specialist detection
ENGINEERING DISCIPLINES
One requirement can take several disciplines
Difficult measurement projects rarely belong to a single engineering specialism.
Gill R&D brings multiple disciplines together around the same development.
Physical science
Understanding the measurement principle and the variables influencing it.
Electronics
Sensor electronics, signal conditioning, embedded hardware and power management.
Embedded software
Firmware, algorithms, signal processing and device behaviour.
Communications
Interfaces, protocols and data handling designed around the wider system.
Mechanical engineering
Materials, packaging, mounting, environmental protection and physical integration.
Systems engineering
Connecting the measurement, electronics, software, mechanics and application requirements into one coherent solution.
This multidisciplinary approach means a development can evolve without losing the context of the original measurement requirement.
TEST, VALIDATE, MANUFACTURE
Trust is built into the development
Testing is not simply the final stage before a product leaves engineering. It is part of understanding the product itself.
Gill has in-house capability across environmental, mechanical and electrical testing, supported by specialist equipment including environmental chambers, a high-speed wind tunnel, flow measurement equipment and bespoke test systems.
Where specialist certification or independent verification is required, Gill works with accredited external laboratories for standards and requirements including ATEX, IECEx, EMC and IP.
Testing can answer more than “does it work?” It can show how it behaves, where its limits are and what needs to change next.
A prototype is not the finished answer
A bespoke solution only becomes commercially useful when it can be manufactured consistently.
Gill R&D works alongside manufacturing throughout development, considering production methods, component selection, quality requirements, design-for-manufacture and scalability.
That helps bridge the gap between a successful engineering prototype and a product that can move into pilot, small-scale or higher-volume manufacture.
ONE GILL
The measurement can start with R&D. It doesn’t have to end there.
Bespoke development rarely stops at the point where the technology has been proven.
Gill’s wider capability spans R&D, product engineering, manufacturing, testing, technical support and calibration, allowing a development to move through the organisation without losing the knowledge built up along the way.
That means the people developing the measurement can work with the people turning it into a product, testing it and preparing it for manufacture.
For a customer, the benefit is continuity. For a complex development, that matters.
BESPOKE DEVELOPMENT
Frequently asked questions
What is bespoke sensor development?
Bespoke sensor development is the process of creating or adapting a sensing technology to meet an application requirement that cannot be fully addressed by a standard product.
When should I consider a bespoke sensor rather than an off-the-shelf product?
A bespoke approach can be appropriate when the required measurement, environmental performance, physical dimensions, materials, communications, integration or production requirements fall outside the capabilities of available standard products.
Can an existing sensor be adapted for a new application?
Yes. Depending on the requirement, an existing Gill measurement technology may provide a starting point for a new environment, mechanical configuration, integration requirement or performance target.
Can Gill develop a completely new sensing technology?
Gill R&D can investigate new measurement approaches where an existing product or technology does not provide a suitable route to the required performance.
Can Gill work with an existing engineering team?
Yes. Bespoke development can be undertaken alongside a customer’s engineering team, with Gill contributing specialist sensing and engineering expertise according to the needs of the project.
Can Gill develop sensors for OEM products?
Yes. Gill can develop sensing solutions for OEM applications where the sensor needs to become part of a larger product or system and meet defined mechanical, electrical, software, environmental or manufacturing requirements.
Can bespoke products be tested for hazardous areas?
Where the application requires hazardous-area certification, Gill works with specialist external laboratories for certification requirements including ATEX and IECEx.
What information does Gill need to assess a bespoke requirement?
Useful starting information includes what needs to be measured, where the measurement will take place, the required measurement performance, environmental conditions, available space and power, communications requirements and how the output will be used.
How early can Gill become involved in a development?
Gill can become involved during early feasibility and concept development, before the sensing approach or product architecture has been fixed.
Have an application to discuss?
Speak to our team
Tell us what you need to measure, where and under what conditions. We’ll help you work out the appropriate approach.