AI-powered urban simulations for green cities

The platform offers real-time feedback on the climate resilience of building and structure designs

Spotted: By 2050, 68 per cent of the global population is expected to live in cities. And, as the effects of climate change begin to bite, city-dwellers will increasingly be at risk from impacts such as extreme heat. Simulations can help architects, planners, and developers create sustainable and climate-resilient urban areas, but these are often expensive and technically demanding. Now, startup Infrared.City believes it has a better solution.

The company has developed state-of-the-art machine learning models that provide real-time feedback on design proposals, helping to guide climate-informed decisions at the planning stages. At present, the software provides feedback on wind speed and comfort, sunlight availability, and solar radiation.

The model uses an open integration approach, which allows users to access and build on their environmental impact predictions through a cloud app using common design software, and through Infrared.City’s API. Through the software, the effect of design decisions can be instantly and continuously calculated at every step of the process.

These decisions make the difference between urban environments that are well-adapted for climate resilience and those that will struggle to cope. This is why the company is focused on providing simulations that can achieve scalable results at a fraction of the computational and financial cost of other products. This will help Infrared.City bring more resilient design simulations to market segments previously unable to afford them.

The startup was spun out of the Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH and last year raised €1 million in a pre-seed funding round. Company co-founder and CPO Oana Taut told Springwise that Infrared.City is currently launching and growing the commercial release of the platform, further adding that the startup is committed to bringing experts and AEC (architecture, engineering, and construction) professionals together to enable the transfer of knowledge and insights around urban climate resilience.

Written By: Lisa Magloff