Bandarlog.dev wins Innovate UK grant for quantum-sensor AI to cut airport equipment failures
What's the deal? BandarlogDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.dev, a deep-tech company focused on quantum sensing and edge AI, has won an Innovate UK grant to develop an AI-driven predictive maintenance system for airport ground support equipment (GSE). The three-month feasibility study will be carried out with Glasgow AirportDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s innovation laboratory and Connected Places Catapult.
The project will explore whether highly sensitive magnetic quantum sensors, paired with machine learning, can detect early signs of wear and faults in critical ground equipment — before conventional methods would catch them.
Why now? Flight delays and ground equipment failures remain a costly headache for the aviation sector, causing disruption that ripples across airline networks and regional economies. Airports are under growing pressure to improve asset availability, cut unplanned downtime, and meet sustainability targets — all of which make predictive maintenance an attractive proposition.
What could go wrong? This is still a feasibility study, not a proven product. The consortium needs to validate whether non-invasive magnetic sensing can achieve the reliability required in busy, safety-critical airport environments — without modifying existing machinery. Scaling from a controlled test at one airport to international deployment is a long road.
The project will capture magnetic signatures from aircraft tugs, baggage conveyors, and passenger boarding bridges under both controlled and live conditions at Glasgow Airport. Whether these "fingerprints" can reliably distinguish healthy from degrading equipment remains to be demonstrated.
The signal: Bandarlog.dev is an early-stage deep-tech company betting that quantum-adjacent sensing can carve out a niche in industrial predictive maintenance. Winning backing from a government and non-profit funder like Innovate UK lends credibility, but also underscores that commercial capital for pre-revenue quantum-AI plays remains scarce — making public grants a critical lifeline for startups trying to bridge the gap between lab research and deployable product.
Read more: medium.com
