Skip to main content
BOREAL APPLIED

COMPANY

Canadian engineering for northern infrastructure.

Boreal Applied is a Calgary-based engineering company developing robotic monitoring systems for paved and concrete assets exposed to changing ground conditions. Its initial focus is repeatable subsurface monitoring for northern airfields, roads, and operational facilities.

Explore the SystemView Applications
  • Calgary, Alberta
  • Canadian engineering company
  • Working technical foundation
  • Pilot and R&D focus

ORIGIN AND PURPOSE

Created to improve how changing ground is monitored.

Boreal Applied was established in Calgary to develop Canadian robotics, sensing, and software for infrastructure in northern and remote environments. The company’s first development program focuses on repeating georeferenced surveys over the same paved asset so that changes can be located, compared, and preserved as a traceable condition record.

Our purpose is to give infrastructure teams better evidence for targeted investigation, validation, maintenance planning, and long-term adaptation—without replacing appropriate engineering or geotechnical review.

ABOUT US

A name grounded in place and purpose.

Boreal Applied reflects both where the company is based and how it approaches engineering.

Boreal

Boreal signals a Canadian company focused on northern environments, remote infrastructure, changing ground conditions, and the operating realities of the North.

Applied

Applied represents practical engineering that brings robotics, sensing, autonomy, software, and data analysis together around clearly defined infrastructure problems.

LEADERSHIP

Experience behind Boreal Applied.

Boreal Applied is led by an interdisciplinary team with experience across robotics, autonomous systems, multisensor inspection, machine learning, field operations, and technology commercialization. Each leader brings relevant experience from Building Diagnostic Robotics to Boreal’s Canadian development program.

Bilal Sher, Chief Executive Officer at Boreal Applied

Bilal Sher

Chief Executive Officer

BACKGROUND

Bilal Sher is a structural engineer and technology founder with experience in infrastructure assessment, applied research, and robotics commercialization. He holds a BSc from the University of Calgary and an MS in Civil Engineering from NYU, where he studied AI-assisted GPR-based subsurface assessment. Earlier in his career, he conducted more than 20 post-Hurricane Maria investigations of structural and building-envelope failures and held structural-design and construction-estimating roles.

BDR EXPERIENCE

Bilal co-founded Building Diagnostic Robotics in 2022 and leads its commercialization, sales, and fundraising. He has guided development of autonomous multisensor inspection technology, raised more than $1.5 million in non-dilutive funding, and secured deployments with NYC DCAS and the Archdiocese of New York. His GPR research contributed to work underlying NYU-licensed USPTO Patent No. 12,591,041, while BDR has received support and recognition through DOE E-ROBOT, NSF/DHS Civic Innovation Challenge, NSF I-Corps, VentureWell, and Army xTechSearch.

Andrew Dave, Chief Technology Officer at Boreal Applied

Andrew Dave

Chief Technology Officer

BACKGROUND

Temporary placeholder — approved current-role and broader technical-experience summary pending.

BDR EXPERIENCE

Temporary placeholder — approved BDR robotics, system architecture, autonomy, sensing, software, or deployment contribution summary pending.

Kevin Lee, Chief Scientific Officer at Boreal Applied

Kevin Lee

Chief Scientific Officer

BACKGROUND

Kevin Lee is a computer scientist specializing in artificial intelligence, computer vision, and machine learning for robotic inspection. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in computer science from New York University. His research includes GPR interpretation and automated condition assessment. He is the lead author of GPR-Former, recipient of the Best Paper Award at ISARC 2025, and has published work on robotic roof inspection at IROS and ISARC.

BDR EXPERIENCE

At Building Diagnostic Robotics, Kevin serves as Chief Science Officer and leads the company's artificial-intelligence, computer-vision, and machine-learning development. He built core systems that enable BDR's robots to detect subsurface moisture, segment roof conditions, and classify defects, supporting the conversion of multimodal inspection data into structured condition evidence.

ENGINEERING FOUNDATION

A working foundation for the next development program.

Boreal Applied has a physically assembled, working proof-of-concept platform that brings together autonomous survey execution, synchronized sensing, georeferenced collection, repeat-survey comparison, and traceable reporting. This foundation supports the company’s development of a monitoring system for changing ground beneath northern infrastructure.

Explore the System
  1. 01Robotic survey execution
  2. 02Integrated multisensor collection
  3. 03Georeferenced repeat surveys
  4. 04Traceable comparison and reporting

WORK WITH BOREAL

Start a conversation about northern infrastructure.

Talk with Boreal about a monitoring application, pilot or field-validation program, R&D partnership, system integration, or general company inquiry.

Discuss a PilotSchedule a Meeting using Motion (opens in a new tab)
Explore an R&D Partnership