Conservation Labs uses sound to diagnose plumbing issues
Summary
Leveraging an algorithm trained on water acoustics, the sensor translates sounds from the pipes into usage statistics, leak alerts and even conservation recommendations.The sensors can monitor individual units or entire buildings, providing remote visibility, Mark Kovscek, the founder and CEO of Conservation Labs, told TechCrunch in an email interview. I realized that sound waves could be indicative of what was going on in the pipes, developed a prototype and filed a patent in 2016.Today, Conservation Labs which earlier this month raised $7.5 million in a Series A funding round led by RET Ventures Housing Impact Fund with participation from Sustain VC sells sensors and a subscription to a cloud-based monitoring service. Depending on which sounds and how many Conservation used to train its algorithms, unintentional bias could creep in skewing the readings.For his part, Kovscek asserted that Conservation has a rigorous approach to development, testing and validating algorithms and that the platform is continuously improving in terms of its accuracy.General acoustic models are created with thousands of hours of data and then sensor-specific models are generated based on the unique environment of the sensor and the unique audio profile of the monitored object, he added. All of this is accomplished with a single sensor that uses a low-cost microphone.Once again, take those claims how you will; this writer didnt and wont have the chance to put them to the test.With a war chest totaling $9.5 million in venture capital, Conservation plans to release the second generation of its water monitoring sensor, increase the scope and scale of its AI platform and expand its ongoing sales and marketing initiatives. To achieve all this, the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based company intends to hire eight people by the end of the year, growing its 22-person team to 30.In sustainability, theres a number of tailwinds, including a drive for more efficient operations, federal funding for climate and energy investment, regulations to encourage water and energy monitoring, increasing water rates and consumer interest in eco-friendly brands, Kovscek said.