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Gill Research & Development is the product design and innovation behind Gill Group, combining broad engineering capabilities with unique expertise in measurement technologies.

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WHO WE ARE

Culture & history

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WHAT WE DO

Capabilities

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WHAT WE KNOW

Technical expertise

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OUR FUTURE

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CUSTOM SENSORS

If your sensor needs differ from our standard designs, Gill has development expertise and facilities to create customised sensors for OEM applications, tailored to meet your specific requirements and enhance your product performance. 

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WHO WE ARE

Gill Research & Development is the product design and innovation behind the Gill group of companies. Despite growing to consist of four companies, Gill remains at its core a family business with a long history of technical excellence, creativity of thought and market transformation.

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GILL CULTURE & HISTORY

For over 35 years Gill has been leading the way in our chosen fields – combining market and technology insights with a team of highly skilled engineers to create innovative products to meet demanding market needs.

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GILL INNOVATION

Gill was amongst the first to develop ultrasonic wind sensors, real-time wear detection in moving equipment and lightweight fuel measurement technology for race environments. These diverse markets benefit from the core capabilities and expertise that Gill brings to problem solving.

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GILL R&D TODAY

Gill Research & Development provides technical innovation to the whole Gill group, developing product solutions for demanding applications and challenging environments.

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WHAT WE DO - CAPABILITIES

Gill Research & Development has diverse technical capabilities which allow the Gill businesses to think broadly and apply ideas creatively, across technology boundaries, to our product designs. These capabilities are further extended by strong industry and university links.

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TECHNOLOGY
RESEARCH

At product inception, Gill R&D conduct in-depth investigations to rapidly identify appropriate solutions to meet project requirements.

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PRODUCT DESIGN & IMPLEMENTATION

Gill R&D’s in-house engineers employ rigorous processes at every stage of product development, including rapid prototyping, to ensure sophisticated, innovative products.

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TESTING
& CERTIFICATION

Thorough testing and evaluation validates that product requirements have been met. Gill use both on-site and external facilities for environmental, mechanical and electrical component testing.

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TRANSITION TO MANUFACTURE

Gill R&D work with commercial and manufacturing departments from the Gill companies to produce pilot production runs as well as small scale and high volume manufacture. 

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WHAT WE KNOW - TECHNICAL EXPERTISE

Unique combinations of technical expertise have been developed within Gill Research and Development, built up over years through the process of solving the most challenging technical problems. These technical expertises have become one of Gill’s key USPs.

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ULTRASONICS

Ultrasonics technology and time-of-flight measurement are at the centre of all Gill Instruments wind sensors. Expertise in this field has led Gill to have a global reputation for the design and manufacture of the highest quality anemometers. 

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CAPACITANCE

Capacitance measurement is at the core of Gill Sensors and Controls level sensor products. These products are used in challenging applications such as Formula One, UAVs, and off-road military vehicles.

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ELECTROMAGNETICS

Electromagnetic field measurement is central to Gill Sensors and Controls position sensing and wear detection products. These products are used in a range of industrial applications where high reliability is key.

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SIGNAL PROCESSING

Signal processing is essential within every Gill product. By conditioning each measurement, extracting the key data, and converting it into user readable formats, signal processing is the crucial bridge between the electrical world and the user.

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HELP CREATE THE FUTURE

The future at Gill Research & Development is all about our people. Our teams are supportive and inclusive, allowing for diverse and creative thinking. If you want to forge an exciting career, contributing to a great team and making a difference then get in touch.

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SYSTEMS
ENGINEERING

Gill’s ability to combine mechanical, electrical and software engineering into a highly accurate product that can function in challenging environmental conditions is key to the group’s success.

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PHYSICAL
SCIENCES

Every Gill product is based on applying fundamental physical science principles to translate physical events or quantities into electrical signals that can be understood and communicated by a measurement instrument

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MECHANICAL
ENGINEERING

Mechanical design to deliver holistic and innovative solutions from initial concept through to volume production. Superior design and reliability are key to Gill products.

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ELECTRONICS & SOFTWARE ENGINEERING

Producing advanced electronic products for extreme applications and developing the embedded firmware at the core of those products is central to Gill R&D’s expertise. Gill engineers also develop easy-to-use interfaces to configure, view and log the data

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For inquiries or to discuss your project needs, please reach out to our team. We look forward to hearing from you.

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GILL CULTURE & HISTORY

For over 35 years Gill has been leading the way in our chosen fields – combining market and technology insights with a team of highly skilled engineers to create innovative products to meet demanding market needs.

From the start Gill was amongst the first to create an ultrasonic anemometer, a wind sensor with no moving parts, resulting in high accuracy and virtually no maintenance requirement. This transformed the wind sensor industry and Gill has led numerous developments of the technology since this time.

In a completely separate market, Gill is currently driving forward technology that provides real-time wear debris monitoring in rotating machinery. This sensor effectively allows a continuous ‘view’ of the condition inside a piece of sealed equipment, providing invaluable advanced warning if and when problems occur.

GILL INNOVATION

Gill was amongst the first to develop ultrasonic wind sensors, real-time wear detection in moving equipment and lightweight fuel measurement technology for race environments. These diverse markets benefit from the core capabilities and expertise that Gill brings to problem solving.

Despite diversity in applications and markets, there is a rock solid continuity in the way Gill Research & Development look at problems afresh, marrying technical need with deep technological understanding to derive concepts and options and ultimately deliver a new solution.

* The image shows the Mayflower Autonomous Ship (MAS400) which uses ground breaking AI technology to self direct, without crew, with information provided by an array of sensors combined with machine learning. One critical sensor is Gill MaxiMet GMX500, advanced compact weather station, which provides essential real-time highly resolute data about local conditions (photo courtesy Promare/IBM).

GILL R&D TODAY

Gill Research & Development provides technical innovation to the whole Gill group, developing product solutions for demanding applications and challenging environments.

Gill R&D have an exciting remit, providing cutting edge meteorological products to Gill Instruments and novel sensor technologies (to measure what was previously unmeasurable) to Gill Sensors & Controls. However, Gill is more than this, with Labcal as part of the group, providing specialist UKAS accredited calibration services, there is an additional resource which both benefits from and contributes to Gill R&D.

To continue to provide the creative solutions Gill are known for, Gill R&D needs the best technical brains, creative thinkers with expertise and knowledge working collaboratively and willing to stretch the limits of application and use beyond the norm. It’s an exciting place limited only by our imaginations!

TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH

At product inception, Gill R&D conduct in-depth investigations to rapidly identify appropriate solutions to meet project requirements.

Working with our product companies, Gill Instruments and Gill Sensors & Controls, our dedicated research team captures requirements and considers fresh ideas at the start of a project before initiating in-depth investigations to rapidly identify appropriate solutions.

A core team of physical scientists develop these solutions from fundamental physical principles, using modelling, calculations and experimentation to demonstrate effectiveness. The team then works more extensively with engineers from other disciplines as the project moves towards the prototype stage.

The research scope includes:

  • Requirements capture (using customer facing business input combined with blue-sky thinking)
  • Identifying significant performance variables
  • Reviews of scientific and engineering literature
  • Design modelling
  • Prototype development and testing

PRODUCT DESIGN & IMPLEMENTATION

Gill R&D’s in-house engineers employ rigorous processes at every stage of product development, including rapid prototyping, to ensure sophisticated, innovative products.

Detailed product designs are reached after concept development and assessment of both feasibility and technical risks. These are followed by techniques such as rapid prototyping and involve early planning for assembly and manufacture and testing to obtain regulatory approvals.

TESTING & CERTIFICATION

Thorough testing and evaluation validates that product requirements have been met. Gill use both on-site and external facilities for environmental, mechanical and electrical component testing.

Gill R&D have full product testing capabilities covering thermal, mechanical, software, electrical, stress and endurance. Gill’s on-site facilities include environmental chambers, gas and liquid flow meters, a high-speed wind tunnel as well as bespoke equipment. In addition, Gill liaises with certified testing houses to ensure products comply with national and international standards.

TRANSITION TO MANUFACTURE

Gill R&D work with commercial and manufacturing departments from the Gill companies to produce pilot production runs as well as small scale and high volume manufacture. Our manufacturing capabilities range from in house SMT facilities, CNC machining, assembly operations and advanced test facilities.

Gill R&D provide support and production analysis to the other Gill businesses combined with full Failure Modes & Effects Analysis (FMEA), ensuring a smooth transition from the product development phase to manufacture.  Gill manufacturing facilities are approved to ATEX, AQAP and ISO9001.

Ultrasonics technology and time-of-flight measurement are at the centre of all Gill Instruments wind sensors. Expertise in this field has led Gill to have a global reputation for the design and manufacture of the highest quality anemometers.

Gill’s reputation for ultrasonic design has led to its products being used by many of the world’s leading meteorological organisations. Gill’s more commercial products are increasingly used by corporations and start-ups to provide weather data to a range of businesses including those monitoring the effects of industrial pollution.

Capacitance measurement is at the core of Gill Sensors and Controls level sensor products. These products are used in challenging applications such as Formula One, UAVs, and off-road military vehicles.

Gill’s capacitance measurement expertise has produced robust sensors that can operate in challenging environmental conditions. The design knowledge incorporated in these sensors enables accurate measurement in demanding high vibration, high temperature applications.

Electromagnetic field measurement is central to Gill Sensors and Controls position sensing and wear detection products. These products are used in a range of industrial applications where high reliability is key.

Gill’s electromagnetic field sensing expertise has been used for many years in non-contact position sensors. More recently this expertise has been used to detect and warn of wear in a wide range of machinery from static generators to conveyor belt gearboxes used extensively in on-line shopping warehouses.

Signal processing is essential within every Gill product. By conditioning each measurement, extracting the key data, and converting it into user readable formats, signal processing is the crucial bridge between the electrical world and the user.

Signal processing provides an indispensable part of every Gill product. By filtering and conditioning the initial measurements, signal processing enables the key data to be extracted and translated to user actionable information. The algorithms developed by Gill are core to the group’s intellectual property.

Gill’s ability to combine mechanical, electrical and software engineering into a highly accurate product that can function in challenging environmental conditions is key to the group’s success.

The balancing of these disciplines to develop a ‘whole system’ delivering high performance combined with cost-effectiveness is fundamental to what Gill R&D do. Ensuring that the overall engineered system is the focus throughout development is essential to delivering our complex and innovative product ranges.

PHYSICAL SCIENCES

Every Gill product is based on applying fundamental physical science principles to translate physical events or quantities into electrical signals that can be understood and communicated by a measurement instrument.

Our highly skilled team of physical scientists uses their deep understanding of the fundamental scientific principles behind the measurement each product makes to improve functionality, and develop the next generation of products. The team is instrumental in developing innovative new products, by combining elements of scientific research in novel ways, to measure new quantities in an expanding range of application areas.

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

Mechanical design is critical to Gill to deliver holistic solutions from initial concept through to volume production. Superior design and reliability are key to Gill products.

Mechanical design is a core discipline within Gill’s product design process. Our highly skilled team cover the full product development lifecycle from concept definition, specification, 3D design, prototyping, design analysis, verification and testing. Gill R&D processes are fully accredited to ISO 9001.

ELECTRONICS & SOFTWARE ENGINEERING

Producing advanced electronic products for extreme applications and developing the embedded firmware at the core of those products is central to Gill R&D’s expertise. Gill engineers also develop easy-to-use interfaces to configure, view and log the data produced.

Gill R&D has been producing electronic systems for advanced technical and commercial applications for over 35 years. Projects are undertaken by a multidisciplinary full-stack Agile team, identifying, developing and reviewing: objectives; schematic and system designs; simulations; EMC, RoHS and other regulatory requirements, part availability constraints; design for and collaborating with manufacturing; continuous integration and testing.  Our aim is to get a basic version of the product delivered early on, and then continue to adapt to any changes in the requirements or problems that arise, giving maximum flexibility and control to the customer.

The associated software is developed using tools and equipment to deliver rapid cost-effective software solutions. Gill R&D specialise in delivering embedded micro-controller, DSP and SoC devices, PC and web-based systems, real-time operating systems and applied algorithms.

Our team of skilled software engineers also develops embedded Linux based systems for a wide range of applications. Utilising a range of development platforms and our experience in software development, we develop real-time communication, networking and integration systems for industries including medical, meteorological, industrial and defence, to name but a few.