Enveloping towns from Maui to the Mediterranean, devastating wildfires intensified by climate change have wreaked havoc this summer. This escalating issue has led to an urgent demand for novel strategies, with artificial intelligence (AI) stepping in as a welcome ally to firefighters and the overwhelmed.
Firefighters, startups, and even tech giants such as Microsoft, are turning to AI-enabled cameras to detect signs of smoke, predict potential fire locations, and even monitoring from space. The global community grapples with the fright and thrill that advancing AI technology provokes, deliberating its potential to revolutionize our day-to-day lives and the ways we respond to crises.
In California, the primary firefighting agency has recently implemented an AI system that scouts for smoke across more than 1,000 mountaintop camera feeds. This groundbreaking system designed to identify abnormalities and alert command centres, allowing human staff to verify reports and respond accordingly. Although human intervention is necessary to guarantee accuracy, the tech-based system effectively lessens strain among monitoring staff by notifying them only when potential fire or smoke is detected.
San Francisco-based startup Pano AI similarly deploys AI technology. The company installs cameras on cell towers to detect smoke and relay the information to customers such as fire departments, utility companies, and ski resorts. Pano AI’s technology bypasses the traditional shortcomings of wildfire detection tactics, reducing dependence on potentially inaccurate 911 calls to allow faster and more accurate responses.
Even the field of space exploration has its part in this fight. German startup OroraTech exploits the advancements in AI technology, camera development and satellite technology via thermal imaging satellites to detect fires from space. This technology accounts variables such as vegetation type and humidity levels to detect flares capable of escalating into a calamitous wildfire.
Yet despite the promise that artificial intelligence brings, Juan Lavista Ferres, chief data scientist at Microsoft noted that the crux of the issue lay in having enough cameras to cover enough ground, especially covering remote areas that have burned. Despite some limitations, such technology could prove invaluable for first responders working with limited resources.
As we scan the skies and turn the lens of cutting-edge technology towards Earth’s blinding wildfires, it’s evident that the possibilities are immense. With the AI’s capacity to predict, detect and mitigate, our fight against wildfires armed with this innovative technology brings hope.
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