CRL
Commercial Readiness Level
CRL – Commercial Readiness Level is a measure on a scale of 1 to 9 of how ready a technology is to be made commercially available, starting from the belief a new technology could be commercially successful all the way through to full regulatory compliance, commercial availability and wider acceptance within the target market. The definition of each level is defined in the table below.
| CRL | Definition |
| 1 | Basic hypothesis that a new technology would be commercially viable. |
| 2 | Basic market awareness demonstrated. |
| 3 | Applications of technology found. |
| 4 | Identify support needed from supply chain, plus any certification and regulatory requirements. |
| 5 | Financial model for sales, costs and margins established. |
| 6 | Confirm exploitation routes; form partnerships across the value chain; and certification and regulatory requirements underway. |
| 7 | Financial model/commercial viability validated. |
| 8 | First commercial system built; route to market established; market assumptions updated. |
| 9 | Technology has been introduced to market. |
The product or technology evaluated could be hardware, software or a system combining both:
- Hardware: for example a robotic probe manipulator to provide automated inspection data collection.
- Software: for example a suite of image processing techniques to aid inspection data interpretation.
- System: for example a collaborative robot (hardware) that uses sophisticated path planning tools (software) to inspect complex materials.
The Research Centre in Nondestructive Evaluation (RCNDE) uses this CRL scale alongside the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) scale (see May’s What the Hec?!) to assist with the efficient development of NDT research projects, where CRL assessment is used to ensure that technologies are fit for end-users and eventual use.
For more information on CRL see:
https://rcnde.ac.uk/projects/technology-transfer/measuring-tech-progress
and
www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/scan/engineering/technology/technology_readiness_level
and
https://esto.nasa.gov/trl
WHAT THE HEC?! articles are not intended to be the definitive account on the topic or acronym in question. Readers’ comments and contributions are welcomed. Email: ndtnews@bindt.org
