About Us
About Us
i-bodi Ltd (formerly Crawley Creatures Ltd, trading as i-bodi technology) is a UK-based engineering company specialising in physical test platforms for the defence, security and PPE testing industries. We combine traditional engineering skills with the creative problem-solving of the special effects world to meet design challenges that few others can.
Our Story
The company began life in the film, TV and museum industry, building animatronic creatures and characters under the name Crawley Creatures. That background in lifelike movement, realistic skins and practical engineering turned out to be exactly what was needed for a very different kind of client.
In 2002, we received an enquiry from DSTL at Porton Down to help with an R&D project. They needed a robotic head-form with realistic skin that could be attached to a breathing machine to test full-face respirators — a completely new venture for a company that had, until then, only worked in film, TV and museums.
We took on the challenge, and after several months of development the head-form — which became known as the Porton Head — was in use. Its success led to a further commission, this time from the USA Army Contracting Agency.
Encouraged by these international defence R&D projects, we set up i-bodi technology to focus on this growing side of the business. Since then, we have developed a wide range of test platforms, including:
- A range of headforms for respirator testing
- Breathing machines
- A robotic hand for testing glove insulation
- Porton Man, an anatomically correct moving mannequin that tests protective clothing in chemically challenging environments
i-body Today
As this defence and PPE testing work grew to become the core of our business, we made it official: in 2026, Crawley Creatures Ltd changed its name to i-bodi Ltd. It’s a change of name, not of values, or approach — we remain committed to the same standards of engineering excellence and creative problem-solving that produced the Porton Head over twenty years ago.
That commitment to quality is formally recognised through our ISO 9001:2015 registration, giving our customers confidence in every project we deliver.