By Dr. David McKee, Crysp CTO, and Sian Purver, Crysp COO.
We’re thrilled to share the significant strides we’ve made with the Crysp: Intelligent Assurance Testbed, a new initiative developed in close collaboration with leading partners like the University of Leeds, XMPro, TÜV SÜD, DNV, the Steinbeis Institute, SLB, ANSYS, and Rowan University (US). This testbed is transforming how built environments are monitored, managed, and optimized, moving from fragmented, paper-based systems to a real-time, AI-driven platform.
What We Set Out to Achieve
Our core motivation for establishing the Intelligent Assurance Testbed was to standardize a blueprint for AI-driven asset and facility management globally across multiple sites and sectors. We aimed to achieve several key objectives:
- Enhance Real-time Situational Awareness and Decision Support: To provide real-time insights and automated decision-making capabilities in high-stakes environments, such as large facilities and critical infrastructure, where timely and coordinated emergency responses are essential.
- Improve Efficiency and Resource Utilization: To cut decision cycles through automated detection and AI-backed dispatch, optimizing resource allocation and reducing idle assets and overtime costs.
- Ensure Regulatory Compliance and Proactive Risk Management: To meet stringent compliance rules, particularly with Martyn’s Law (Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025), by integrating fault scenarios and enabling simulation “dress rehearsals” to surface process gaps before real incidents occur.
- Address Data Challenges: To overcome fragmented data streams from sensor networks and manual reports and the complexities of coordinating various resources under dynamic uncertainty.
- Foster Digital Trust and Sustainability: To build a foundation of trustworthy data, ensure long-term value through compliance and governance, and align with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We also sought to clarify the role of the digital thread versus the digital twin and assess the maturity of digital twin systems.
Progress So Far
The Crysp: Intelligent Assurance Testbed has made significant headway, leveraging Digital Twin and Multi-Agent AI Systems to deliver on its ambitious goals. This progress is actively demonstrated across key sites, including the Nexus Leeds innovation centre at the University of Leeds and the Steinbeis Institute (FSTI) campus in Germany.
The testbed is actively demonstrating and progressing several critical use cases and capabilities:
- AI-Driven Incident and Public Protection Management: This broader use case is being actively demonstrated.
- Incident Resource Management Response to Adverse Use of Pyrotechnics: This scenario shows how an Incident Commander (IC) can quickly request resources (intelligence, personnel, equipment) to manage an evolving event where pyrotechnic flares have ignited flammable materials, relying on frameworks like the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and Incident Command System (ICS). The system logs requests and notifies relevant staff.
- Review Venue Public Protection Procedures that Mitigate Incendiary Materials: This focuses on a Security Industry Authority Reviewer (SIAR) testing public protection controls and location-specific asset componentry to mitigate harm from incendiary materials, directly addressing Martyn’s Law (Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025) compliance. The digital twin simulates how these procedures and assets would perform.
- Real-time, AI-Driven Asset and Facility Management: We are transitioning from traditional paper-based systems to a live, AI-driven platform.
- Live Building Performance Monitoring: The testbed pulls live sensor feeds from operational buildings, like those at Nexus Leeds, monitoring energy and water usage, occupancy, comfort, and maintenance needs, all visible through an intuitive dashboard.
- Automated Compliance and Assurance: We have implemented continuous, automated compliance checks running 24/7, ensuring the digital twin is always accurate and audit-ready. This is underpinned by a Master Data Management (MDM) platform that integrates governance, interoperability, and trust, aligned with frameworks from the EDM Association and OMG ontologies.
- Streamlined Asset Lifecycle and Maintenance: The platform securely stores and organizes all asset records, with real-time tracking of asset performance, automated maintenance alerts, and customized reporting. It also includes real-time issue and remediation tracking via digital forms and automated alerts.
- Operational Efficiency and Sustainability Optimization:
- AI-Driven Decisioning: Our AI analytics provide predictive models to forecast resource demand and prescriptive engines to recommend optimal dispatch plans, cutting decision cycles by up to 50% and optimizing resource utilization.
- Cost Savings and Efficiency: The Crysp platform has demonstrated significant benefits, including potential savings of £192,000 ($250,000) over three years and 30% efficiency gains through automated workflows.
- Sustainability Alignment: Efforts align with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for long-term compliance and governance.
- Centralized Digital Workflows and Expert Support:
- Centralized Compliance & Document Control: Crysp acts as a repository for statutory compliance documents (e.g., Gas, water certificates) and key information for stakeholders across multiple locations.
- Smart Digital Workflows: Traditional paper-based forms (e.g., accident reporting, fire drill checklists) are transformed into digital formats with cloud-based storage and audit tracking.
- On-Demand Compliance Experts and Integrated Legal Support: The platform provides instant access to qualified professionals for immediate guidance and tailored advice on regulatory matters.
What We Will Have Achieved by September 2025
By September 2025, we are poised to achieve several key milestones, further solidifying the testbed’s capabilities and reach:
- Full Public Showcase: We will host a full public showcase in Leeds in September 2025, following initial demonstrations in June 2025, to reveal how this technology is transforming built environment management.
- Enhanced Digital Twin Maturity: We aim to elevate the integration and simulation capabilities of our Digital Twin elements to a high maturity level (TRL ≥ 6) within the testbed. This involves a two-way synchronization between field assets and the virtual model, enabling scripted “what-if” scenarios.
- Autonomous AI Agent Flows: We are targeting the achievement of end-to-end autonomous planning for Agentic AI flows, moving from planning to execution for comprehensive incident response.
- Real-time Decision Intelligence: Our goal is to bring forecasting and prescription models into real-time operations, enabling predictive analytics to anticipate resource needs and recommend optimal dispatch plans before requests are even completed.
- Robust Lifecycle Management: We will implement enterprise tool orchestration (AE.ET) and continuous learning loops (LA.RL) for lifecycle management, ensuring continuous tuning of dispatch policies based on outcome data and auto-calibration of simulation parameters.
- Expanded Testbed Footprint: We are actively scaling the testbeds across the Leeds Innovation Arc and further geographies, including Ingenuity (Leeds), Steinbeis Institut (Germany), and Oakridge High Schools in the USA, aiming for global demonstration across multiple sites and sectors.
The Crysp: Intelligent Assurance Testbed represents a significant leap forward in creating safer, more efficient, and compliant environments through the power of AI and digital twins. We look forward to demonstrating these advancements and continuing our journey toward a smarter, stress-free future for asset and facility management.