IoT leak detector company among two SPRINTS AI Accelerator winners

A company using acoustic signals to detect underground water leaks and another designing digital inspection systems for high-rise buildings are the first to be awarded support under the ARM Hub’s SPRINTS Artificial Intelligence Accelerator Program.

SPRINTS, announced in December last year, provides $25,000 in-kind support to successful applicants, which must also invest a minimum of $25,000 on their project. The accelerator runs programs for  “micro-to-medium sized manufacturers” lasting six to nine months to help them “increase their digital capabilities.”

Leakster’s CEO Sara Richardson described the program in a statement as an exciting opportunity.

“The SPRINTS program will help us to industrialise our technology, design for manufacture, and deploy the technology in a larger area of network for more testing and to prove the commerciality of the product,” said Richardson.

Leakster uses acoustic sensors fitted on underground water pipelines, collecting information on changes in noise. These are interpreted by cloud-based software, using signal processing and machine learning to detect and classify anomalies such as possible water leaks.

“At present, leaks in pipes are often only detected when the water leak becomes visible on the surface, which can occur after many years of leaking or when a large pipe ruptures,” added Richardson.

“The ARM Hub has access to a lot of world-leading university researchers, and what we are doing is heavily involved in R&D.” 

The other company to win support is Voltin, which has developed an AI digital inspection system for the facades on high-rise buildings, integrating with Building Information Modelling (BIM) data.

“Leakster and Voltin both successfully pitched their cases to an industry and academic panel, and both demonstrated a unique product with great potential for scale-up and access to global markets,” said the ARM Hub’s CEO, Associate Professor Cori Stewart.

Panelists assessing pitches for SPRINTS included Shay Chalmers, Director of Strategic Engineering Australia; Dr Evan Shellshear, head of analytics at Biarri; and Professor Greg Hearn from QUT’s School of Design.

Picture: The Daily Telegraph

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