Manchester Metropolitan University and Jacobson Group Limited KTP 24_25 R5

A product development cycle—from initial design to final product—is being overhauled with new digital tools to cut waste and speed up the process. This matters because most manufacturing still relies on slow, resource-heavy cycles: physical prototypes, repeated testing, and late-stage fixes that consume energy and materials. The project aims to embed digital capabilities—such as simulation, data analytics, and automated decision-making—directly into the development workflow, so problems are caught and corrected before any physical part is made. If the research succeeds, manufacturers could shorten development times, reduce material waste, and lower energy use across the product lifecycle. The impact would be felt in sectors people rarely think about: supply chains, industrial machinery, and consumer goods production. Fewer discarded prototypes and less rework mean lower costs and a smaller environmental footprint. This is applied, commercially focused work—a Knowledge Transfer Partnership between Manchester Metropolitan University and Jacobson Group Limited. It is not fundamental science. The goal is a practical, deployable system that makes product development leaner and more sustainable, not a new theoretical insight.