Resources · Glossary
Deeptech innovation glossary
The terms we use every day, defined simply. To go further, each definition links to the page that develops it.
Agile for Hardware
- Applying agile principles (value, feedback, adaptation) to hardware and deeptech projects while adapting the tactics: initial framing before iterating, prototypes designed as decision-making instruments, short disciplinary sprints combined with system-level iterations. Learn more
Critical hypothesis
- An assumption that, if it proves wrong, undermines the project's viability. It must be tested first, especially if evidence can be obtained early. Learn more
Deeptech
- Innovation based on a breakthrough scientific or engineering advance. Its development requires time, specialist skills and a methodical reduction of uncertainty before any scale-up.
Deliverable
- Something produced at a project stage: mock-up, report, architecture, roadmap. A deliverable shows that something was produced, not necessarily that something was learned. Learn more
Demonstrator
- A setup showing that a technology works in an environment closer to reality. It only helps decisions if it reproduces the constraints that actually posed a problem.
Digital twin
- A digital model of a product or system, used to test more hypotheses without multiplying physical prototypes.
Evidence
- A result that reduces an uncertainty and enables a decision: a measurement, a test revealing a limit, a comparison between two options, an integration trial. Learn more
Learning loop
- A short cycle linking a test, a measurement and a decision. Its value lies in what it teaches about a critical hypothesis, not in the amount of work produced. Learn more
MRL (Manufacturing Readiness Level)
- A manufacturing maturity scale: controlled processes, tolerances, suppliers, costs, volumes and quality control. A project can be advanced in TRL and still immature in MRL. Learn more
Optical reflectometry
- A technique that sends light into a fibre and analyses the reflected light to locate faults and breaks along the network. Learn more
Outsourced R&D
- Entrusting all or part of a research and development effort to an external partner. At Innowide, missions are fixed-price, between TRL 2 and 6, and the client's internal team stays in control. Learn more
Proof of concept
- A first demonstration, in controlled conditions, that a technical principle can produce the intended effect. It does not yet show whether the solution will be robust, integrable or manufacturable. Learn more
Prototype (decision-making instrument)
- A setup built to answer a specific question: validate a principle, compare two options, measure a performance, reveal a constraint. Its value lies in decisions, not looks. Learn more
Pupillometry
- Measuring the pupil's diameter and its response to light. It makes the state of the autonomic nervous system measurable: fatigue, stress, recovery. Learn more
Specification
- A document setting out the need, constraints and success criteria of a development. In early-stage innovation, it can become the outcome of an exploration phase rather than its starting point. Learn more
Technological deadlock
- A technical obstacle that blocks a project until it is removed: a performance to reach, a physical limit, an integration or environmental constraint. Learn more
TRL (Technology Readiness Level)
- A nine-level technology maturity scale, from observing a principle (TRL 1) to operation in real conditions (TRL 9). Innowide works between TRL 2 and 6. Learn more
V-model
- A sequential development model going down from specification to build, then back up through testing. Effective when the need is stable; applied too early, it locks in untested hypotheses.
A definition alone won't break a deadlock.
30 minutes to discuss your project with an expert.
Talk to an expert