Glossary
Technology Readiness Level (TRL)
A 1-to-9 scale that describes how mature a technology is, from basic principles (TRL 1) to a system proven in real operations (TRL 9).
Technology Readiness Levels originated at NASA and are now used widely by governments and funders to describe maturity in a consistent way. Roughly: TRL 1–3 cover research and proof of concept; TRL 4–6 cover prototypes validated in the lab and then in a relevant environment; TRL 7–9 cover a system demonstrated in an operational environment, qualified, and finally proven through successful real-world use.
The scale matters for procurement: a buyer testing a TRL 8 system is evaluating something deployable, not funding research. Programs such as the ISC Testing Stream explicitly target TRL 7–9 innovations for that reason.
Why it matters to our work
Our selection for the ISC Testing Stream recognizes our platform at TRL 7–9 — late-stage, deployable technology.