Team develops AI tool to find potential for mould

An AI tool which is said to be able to detect the potential for mould before it develops has been created by researchers at a West Yorkshire university.

The technology examines buildings, including homes, to identify areas likely to be prone to dampness and mould, then suggests plans to solve the problem, according to the team at Leeds Beckett University.

Dr Jamiu Dauda, who led the research, said it could prove "very useful" if it was eventually rolled out commercially.

"This app is just like you having an AI agent that comes to your home and tells you that mould is, or isn't, coming," he said.

According to government estimates, the number of homes in England with damp and mould could be up to 6.5 million.

Dr Dauda said it was "especially" the case that social housing was affected by mould.

Following the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak in 2020, which a coroner concluded was due to exposure to mould in his home, Awaab's Law was launched, requiring social housing landlords to quickly investigate and fix hazardous conditions such as mould in homes.

Dr Dauda said the "preventative" technology developed at Leeds Beckett could calculate the risk of a house developing mould using measurements such as the size of the building and its energy performance.

The tool, developed by the university and construction company BuildEco, was currently being used by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the construction industry, he explained.

It was hoped landlords, tenants and homeowners could use it in the future, according to Dr Dauda.

"That's where it's going to be most effective," he said.

"The SME's are trying to roll out what we have now to social housing. Based on that, then they are going to go into full commercialisation."

Dr Dauda said the aim for the full roll-out would be for data to be collected automatically through a smart meter, which could then produce recommendations on how to avoid mould.

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