Research is a necessary or beneficial pre-curser to the design phase in some projects and can lay a solid foundation prior to commencing detailed design. While some projects can proceed into the design directly from a needs analysis, others require a research phase.
Technical research is often necessary when:
- There are high levels of technical risk and/or complexity
- A design is the pushing boundaries of known possibilities (performance, size, weight etc.)
- Practical experimentation is required to understand an unknown system
- Simulations are beneficial in better understanding an uncharacterised physical system
- Extensive optimisation is required
- A project involves highly innovative new approaches that need investigation to validate
Typical research tools and approaches we use include:
- Development of custom research platforms for algorithm development, performance evaluation and other research activities
- Simulation tools such as Spice, Matlab and Labview
- Performing literature reviews of existing products, material and concepts
- Consultation with area-specific specialists from both industry and academia
