Bespoke software & applied AI · London and the South East
Software built around your business.
I design, build and support software systems for businesses: web applications, mobile apps for iPhone, iPad and Android, internal tools, AI-powered workflows and specialist computer vision. From a small, defined job to a complete platform, the starting point is what your business needs to achieve.
You work directly with me, Dr Simon McCool: a software and applied AI engineer who has delivered commercial systems and taken complex technology from design to field testing. I can meet you in person anywhere in London and the South East.
What do you need to get done?
You do not need an AI strategy or a fully written technical specification before calling. These are four common starting points.
“We need an application.”
A quoting or booking system, a customer portal, an internal dashboard, a phone or tablet app for staff on site, or a bespoke web app built around a process your business owns.
“Our existing system needs work.”
An application needs a new feature, a better data model or a more useful interface. The job may be to improve what is there, not replace it.
“We want AI to do a real job.”
Staff have experimented with AI, but the next step is a dependable workflow connected to your data, applications and approval process.
“We need specialist engineering.”
A product depends on image or video analysis, custom machine learning, model evaluation, or processing on a device rather than in the cloud.
Services
Commission a defined piece of work, a complete build, or an independent review. Engineering, evaluation and support can be supplied together or separately.
Web and mobile apps
Customer-facing web applications, internal systems, dashboards, quoting and scheduling tools, and mobile apps for iPhone, iPad and Android. That includes field apps that let staff capture photographs, video and voice notes on site, linked to the job they belong to. I build the app, the backend, the database and the deployment.
You get
- A web or mobile app, or a new feature, built to your brief
- Testing, documentation and deployment
- Handover or continued development and support
AI application development
Put AI inside a useful business process: document understanding, structured information extraction, voice interfaces, knowledge retrieval and workflows combining model output with explicit business rules and human checks.
You get
- A working application, not just a prompt demonstration
- Connections to the parts of your larger system that matter
- Output checks and defined human review points
Computer vision & machine learning
Specialist development involving images, video and sensor data: detection, tracking, classification, model training and evaluation, and deployment in cloud or edge environments. Data availability and feasibility are assessed before a build is committed.
You get
- A feasibility assessment and measurable acceptance criteria
- Prototype or model development to an agreed scope
- Evaluation on representative, held-out data
Systems & AI review
An independent look at how work is done, which applications and data you already have, and where software or AI would make a practical difference. The result is a prioritised plan, not an automatic recommendation to buy more technology.
You get
- Written priorities, options and indicative costs
- Risks, dependencies and a realistic implementation sequence
- Walkthrough with the budget holder and relevant staff
Independent technical evaluation
Assess an existing application, AI supplier, model or prototype before committing more money. Test performance against agreed requirements, examine data handling and dependencies, and explain the trade-offs.
You get
- Tests on representative data where access permits
- A findings report: keep, improve or replace
- Options for the next technical decision
Support, extension & training
After a build, choose ongoing maintenance, hosting arrangements, further development, retained engineering advice, practical team training or a complete documented handover. Responsibilities are agreed for each engagement.
You get
- A support or development arrangement suited to your team
- Clear documentation and technical ownership
- Training on the system or AI workflow delivered
How a project works
A two-day application fix and a three-month development project should not require the same process. Scope and price are matched to the work.
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Understand
We discuss the outcome, the people using the system, and what already exists. I can visit your premises where that helps.
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Agree scope
For a clear job, agree a short brief and quote. For a more uncertain problem, start with a paid review or feasibility phase.
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Build & test
Develop or evaluate the agreed system, show progress and test against requirements using suitable real-world data.
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Deploy & support
Deploy, document and train as agreed. Choose ongoing support and improvements, or a complete handover.
Working principles
Direct access to the engineer
You work directly with the person designing and developing the system. Site visits are available across London and the South East.
Fit before technology
An ordinary application or a change to an existing system may be the right answer. AI is used where it earns its place.
Testing you can inspect
We agree what success means. For AI work, performance and uncertainty are tested and reported, not hidden behind a demonstration.
Clear ownership & handover
Data handling, hosting, dependencies and support responsibilities are agreed in writing. Documentation accompanies the work.
Relevant work
Commercial software delivery, thirteen years running a technology services business, and recent end-to-end AI engineering.
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2025
Survello
A complete surveying platform, built to a UK surveying group’s brief and bought by the group. Before the visit, it enriches each property with around 150 data points, reads the agent’s photographs, calculates a quote that shows how it was reached, and takes the job through to booking. On site, surveyors use its iPad and Android app to capture the survey, with spoken notes linked to their photographs.
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2000 to 2013
L9 Education
My technology services business operated with 15 staff across nine school sites, delivering networks, classroom systems, device roll-outs, training and support. One project deployed 1,600 laptops. Alongside that work I built web applications for small businesses.
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2024 to 2026
Willow and EdgeRaptor
One capture-to-inference architecture supporting residential and industrial inspection: Android tablet, USB pole camera, FLIR thermal imaging, voice, cloud ingest, structured evidence and live AI review. Tested end to end outdoors in September 2026. The tank application remains a prototype, not a deployed commercial service.
See the engineering work -
2020 to 2024
Computer vision research
My University of Hertfordshire PhD developed a real-time pipeline for predicting vehicle intent from video, combining detection, tracking, probabilistic modelling and evaluation on a junction held out of initial training. Current separate research compares conventional and spiking networks for edge inference; that comparison is in progress.
Read the research
Rates & project fees
A small, clearly defined job can start without a lengthy review. Larger builds, assessments and support agreements are scoped and priced in writing before work begins.
Standard engineering rate
£95 per hour
Billed by the hour, with no daily minimum. Small, clearly defined jobs can also be quoted as a fixed fee.
Systems & AI review
£4,800 fixed fee
A separately agreed assessment scope, with written findings, options and priorities.
Build, evaluate or support
Quoted to the brief
Fixed-scope fees or agreed engineering days, with acceptance and handover terms defined.
November 2026 · introductory project rates
For new projects agreed in writing and started in November 2026, the engineering rate is £38 per hour with a minimum of eight billable hours per booked working day (£304 per day). This rate applies until the originally agreed project scope is completed, even if work continues after November. Additional work or changes to scope are quoted separately.
The fixed-scope Systems & AI Review is £2,600 when agreed and started in November. All work is subject to a written brief, availability and agreed terms.
Start with a conversation.
Tell me what you want to build, improve or evaluate. A brief description is enough to begin. I will tell you whether the work fits, what needs clarifying and how I would approach it.
Dr Simon McCool · Daisy Studio · London and the South East