Tech startup WaveLogix receives federal SBIR grant to develop its IoT sensors for concrete strength monitoring

The company’s Rebel brand of concrete strength sensors improves upon the industry standard to measure concrete strength: breaking multiple field-cured concrete samples. Destructive concrete strength testing has several drawbacks including inaccuracy, quality control issues, interuser variability, material waste and expense.

The Rebel sensor system directly measures real-time, in-place concrete strength without requiring destructive concrete testing or the development of a maturity curve. The sensors also are not impacted by concrete mix design, meaning the mix can be changed during a project.

Luna Lu is the founder and chief science officer at WaveLogix. She said the NSF grant will help accelerate WaveLogix’s timeline to market.

“The funding will help the company accelerate the product development phase, particularly the IoT platform for data processing and sharing,” Lu said.

WaveLogix plans to conduct beta testing of the Rebel sensor system in 2023.

“After the beta testing, we start the manufacturing of sensors, with the focused initial market on roads, bridges and other major infrastructure projects,” Lu said.

Lu also is the ACPA Professor at the Lyles School of Civil Engineering with a courtesy appointment in materials engineering. She is the founding director of the Center for Intelligent Infrastructure at Purdue University. Lu invented the technology that WaveLogix is commercializing, having disclosed it to the Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization.

The Rebel brand of concrete strength sensors was named a 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers GameChanger. The scientific paper also received the 2022 Alfred Noble Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to today’s toughest challenges. Ranked in each of the last five years as one of the 10 Most Innovative universities in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at https://stories.purdue.edu.

About Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization

The Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S. Services provided by this office support the economic development initiatives of Purdue University and benefit the university’s academic activities through commercializing, licensing and protecting Purdue intellectual property. The office is housed in the Convergence Center for Innovation and Collaboration in Discovery Park District at Purdue, adjacent to the Purdue campus. In fiscal year 2021, the office reported 159 deals finalized with 236 technologies signed, 394 disclosures received and 187 issued U.S. patents. The office is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, which received the 2019 Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities Award for Place from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. In 2020, IPWatchdog Institute ranked Purdue third nationally in startup creation and in the top 20 for patents. The Purdue Research Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation created to advance the mission of Purdue University. Contact otcip@prf.org for more information.