From the collaborative research efforts at Syracuse University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Georgia Institute of Technology comes sustainable building startup Lamarr.AI. The startup recently raised $1.1 million in pre-seed funding to commercialize its automated technology which will use drones, thermal imaging and machine learning techniques to inspect and analyze buildings. The startup aims to reduce building carbon emissions and lower maintenance and ownership costs.

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Professor Senem Velipasalar has been collaborating with former Syracuse University professor Tarek Rakha, who is now at Georgia Tech, as well as Norhan Bayomi and John E. Fernandez from MIT. Velipasalar has been working on autonomous thermal anomaly detection using machine learning on building envelopes, which include windows, doors, walls, and roofs. Thermal anomaly detection involves identifying and classifying temperature variations in different areas.

Led by Rakha, the team received a $1.8 million grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy in 2019 for their preliminary work on thermal anomaly detection. Lamarr.AI was then founded in 2021 to commercialize this technology, and Velipasalar has played a crucial role as the startup’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Rakha serves as the startup’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Using AI to automate building analysis, Lamarr.AI has collaborated with several building owners and facilities managers, saving over $1 million in engineering and construction costs. Their AI technology identifies issues, such as deteriorated window seals and leaky roofs. It has also helped in effectively planning and scoping large building envelope retrofits, a process that improves a building’s energy efficiency.

The algorithms Lamarr.AI has developed contribute to transforming building energy audits by providing recommendations significantly faster, more affordably and more accurately than traditional manual audits. The startup filed two patents based on this technology, both of which are co-owned by Syracuse University, Georgia Tech and MIT.

“I am very excited and happy that commercialization of this technology will allow us to increase the visibility of Lamarr and Syracuse University both nationally and internationally and draw attention to not only the AI-related research being conducted at Syracuse University but also the commercialization of these developed technologies for the betterment of the society,” says Velipasalar.