When you smell something burning in your kitchen, you know to take the bread out of the toaster or the pie out of the oven before anything catches fire. But modern smoke detectors don’t have this capability, and often don’t sound alerts until there’s little time left to react.
To address this problem at the industrial level, Wenbo Yu founded Linear Detection, which offers new fire prevention technology for data centers, battery warehouses and other facilities. This technology is an alternative to traditional fire detection (like to those household smoke alarms) which can only alert of a fire after it’s already started. With Linear Detection, fires in modern industrial facilities can be detected before they start.
“I just want to do something that’s within my capability that really solves some problem, and that’s how the whole thing started.”
Yu said most smoke alarms use photoelectric technology—which is the same technology as you’d find in a TV remote control. But now that more advanced sensor capability is available, Yu has been developing a fusion sensor technology combined with machine learning algorithms that accurately detects fires before they start. He calls his product the Integrated Fire Tracking Cable.
Sensor fusion mimics the way humans detect fire, Yu said. Humans can smell something burning without actually seeing fire, for example, and then take steps to prevent it. Linear Detection’s sensor will measure gas in the air, the temperature, and other parameters to get a similar head start on anything that might be about to burst into flames.
From detection to prevention
Yu worked in the automotive industry for many years and was on hand to experience manufacturers’ transition to building more electric and hybrid vehicles. At that time, he developed a technology called a regenerative brake, whereby the vehicle regenerates energy when the car brakes and stores electricity for later use. Yu said he is proud to have “helped the environmental movement,” and he wanted to continue this momentum when he founded Linear Detection in 2023.
To that end, the new, Cary-based startup is well positioned to lend a hand in EV-related production. Most electric vehicles today use lithium-ion batteries, which are prone to catching fire. When these fires start, there is no way to put them out; the battery must burn up completely. This is not only a problem with individual cars, but also a significant risk in battery factories and storage facilities. In one tragic example last June, a fire at a battery factory in South Korea led to the deaths of 22 people.
In addition to the clear human tragedy in an event like this, there is also environmental fallout to consider. Fire departments can’t stop these fires, but they will use a lot of water to slow the fires down. This wastes water, but also causes water to mix with the toxic chemicals inside batteries (and other burned materials), resulting in toxic water flowing away from disaster sites and entering the environment.
Because the fires can’t be stopped, Yu decided that he would find a way to prevent them.
“The whole mindset is transforming fire detection to prevention,” Yu said.
So far, Yu has completely bootstrapped his company. Linear Detection participated in CED’s GRO Incubator this past fall (GrepBeat has also written about its fellow cohort members Golgi-CONNECT, Melon, Murmuratto, No Show Hero, Brainery Labs, and Nearby Nearby) and Yu said he hopes to launch the MVP in about six months, once government compliance tests are complete.
When Linear Detection is officially launched, customers will pay a one-time fee to purchase either individual devices or a series of devices for their business.
QUICK BITS
Startup: Linear Detection
Founder: Wenbo Yu (Product Design Engineer)
Founded: 2023
Team size: 5
Location: Cary, NC
Website: www.lineardetectionsystems.com
Funding: Bootstrapped
Yu is currently engaging in customer discovery, and he has found that 90% of fire protection engineers are not satisfied with the current systems they are working with. In one example in Arizona, a battery energy storage facility was put in the middle of the desert to minimize harm in case of a fire. However, the dust from the desert clogged the smoke detector, and it stopped working after three months.
“Problems are everywhere,” Yu said.
Yu’s first market goal is in the battery industry, but he said this technology can later be applied to power plants and other industries at high fire risk. Eventually, Yu said the product could be modified to be sold for individual cars and homes.
