Within many industries, such as aerospace, it is important that long-term support is available for NDT services and equipment. This makes it challenging to introduce novel technology with a sole supplier, often delaying technology adoption until it is available from multiple suppliers. This presents a barrier to suppliers looking to bring technology from universities into industry as, without exclusivity for new software or capabilities, it can be difficult to ensure the costs of development and integration are recovered.

To address this challenge, the MTC created the Algorithm Deployment Support Service (ADSS), which facilitates the transition of academically-developed algorithms into industry via software design documents that can be licenced to multiple suppliers. A pilot of the ADSS programme with the University of Bristol finished in 2021 for a package of algorithms to carry out 3D ultrasonic analysis of composite materials. A series of software design documents were created and then licenced to multiple NDT supply-chain partners and end users, to allow them to create their own software packages, using the same underlying framework.