Startup aims to revolutionize building maintenance with AI
Zurich-based startup irmos technologies receives 150,000 Swiss francs from Venture Kick for the development of its intelligent platform for monitoring and predictive analysis of building structures. The combination of sensors and algorithmic processing extends the service life and improves the safety of buildings and bridges.
The earthquake in February, which claimed 30,000 lives and destroyed 10,000 buildings in Turkey alone, highlighted the need for and benefits of monitoring structures. Based on years of research at ETH Zurich, irmos technologies has developed what it claims is a unique platform that revolutionizes the maintenance and preservation of buildings and bridges by maximizing their safety and durability. It combines low-cost sensors with intelligent algorithms that convert vibrations from sources such as traffic, wind, construction and seismic events into structural health data, enabling real-time tracking of global structural integrity regardless of building materials.
Data-based building maintenance
The startup has acquired and processed valuable datasets of healthy and damaged structures to develop its algorithms, and has validated the algorithmic backend in more than a dozen buildings and two highway bridges. The platform provides not only structural damage assessments, but also degradation analysis to support predictive maintenance. It also serves as an early warning system and rapid condition assessment in the event of disasters and accidents. By extending the life of a structure, the platform can dramatically increase the efficiency of building assessment and extend the payback of real estate.
Great market potential
In Switzerland alone, where 50% of 1.1 million buildings have exceeded their planned lifespan, the market for its use is estimated at CHF 100 million annually. Globally, the market for structural monitoring is estimated at around USD 4 billion by 2027, with an annual growth rate of 14.6%.
The startup's platform has already been used in several pilot projects, including at the Bellevue Palace in Bern and the Glarus Cantonal Hospital, and is involved in a long-term monitoring project with ASTRA, the Federal Roads Office. It has also initiated a special collaboration project for the monitoring of the Acropolis in Athens.
The startup plans to invest the CHF 150,000 from Venture Kick in expanding its market presence in Switzerland and developing the business plan for its international growth in 2024.
Experienced team
The team consists of Panagiotis Martakis, who holds a PhD in AI for structural monitoring from ETH and has three years of experience as a professional engineer in companies; Yves Reuland, a monitoring infrastructure expert who holds a PhD in structural performance monitoring from EPFL and has led over 30 monitoring campaigns; and Christos Lataniotis, a senior software engineer who holds a PhD in data science from ETH and has fifteen years of experience in companies and startups. Their team of advisors includes Prof. Eleni Chatzi, an expert in structural monitoring at ETH; Bruno Spicher, an expert in infrastructure insurance on the executive board of SBB; and Dr. Clotaire Michel, an expert in infrastructure risk at Risk & Safety AG.
"If our startup is a sailboat, Venture Kick has literally been the wind and the compass for our entrepreneurial journey. Besides the massive financial support, the coaching kicks and the network of investors and industry experts turned our research idea into a valuable commercial proposition," says Panagiotis Martakis.
Source and further information: https://www.venturekick.ch/irmos-technologies
