Satellites, Drones, and AI: the New 'High-Tech Quest to Fight Wildfires' (msn.com) 8
There's now an "influx" of startups fightging wildfires, reports the Washington Post.
"More than 100 new wildfire-related technologies have launched in the U.S. and around the world since 2023, according to Lori Moore-Merrell, who served as U.S. fire administrator during the Biden administration... Unmanned lookout poles that use AI to sense smoke have been erected in the West. Swarms of military-grade drones are increasingly used for wildfire detection and management. AI technology also tracks lightning strikes, which can ignite wildfires..." As America contends with what is already a punishing year of wildfires across massive swaths of the country, new, extremely precise satellite images beamed from space from the initiative FireSat. In March, a satellite outfitted with infrared sensors was launched more than 370 miles into space with the sole task of detecting and monitoring fires. With the ability to loop millions of miles around the planet each day, it found active fires and burn scars using bands of infrared light, demonstrating technology that the project's leaders and its early adopters said could be integral to filling technological gaps in the way they fight burns.
The satellite initiative was launched by a nonprofit coalition called Earth Fire Alliance (EFA). Its partners include Muon Space, which is developing the satellites; Google, which is using AI to help filter through the images; the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; and the Environmental Defense Fund. The goal is to have 50 satellites in orbit by 2030 to capture the entire world. At full capacity, the constellation is aiming to sweep the entire Earth every 20 minutes to detect small fires. By spring or summer of next year, it plans to launch three more satellites into space that will coordinate with agencies in states including California and Colorado to help them detect and fight fire.
"More than 100 new wildfire-related technologies have launched in the U.S. and around the world since 2023, according to Lori Moore-Merrell, who served as U.S. fire administrator during the Biden administration... Unmanned lookout poles that use AI to sense smoke have been erected in the West. Swarms of military-grade drones are increasingly used for wildfire detection and management. AI technology also tracks lightning strikes, which can ignite wildfires..." As America contends with what is already a punishing year of wildfires across massive swaths of the country, new, extremely precise satellite images beamed from space from the initiative FireSat. In March, a satellite outfitted with infrared sensors was launched more than 370 miles into space with the sole task of detecting and monitoring fires. With the ability to loop millions of miles around the planet each day, it found active fires and burn scars using bands of infrared light, demonstrating technology that the project's leaders and its early adopters said could be integral to filling technological gaps in the way they fight burns.
The satellite initiative was launched by a nonprofit coalition called Earth Fire Alliance (EFA). Its partners include Muon Space, which is developing the satellites; Google, which is using AI to help filter through the images; the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; and the Environmental Defense Fund. The goal is to have 50 satellites in orbit by 2030 to capture the entire world. At full capacity, the constellation is aiming to sweep the entire Earth every 20 minutes to detect small fires. By spring or summer of next year, it plans to launch three more satellites into space that will coordinate with agencies in states including California and Colorado to help them detect and fight fire.
So business as usual interfering with nature? (Score:2)
Isn't putting out every fire why forests are unhealthy?
Re: (Score:1)
No, being too cheap and lazy to start them on purpose in a controlled, planned, and rotating pattern is why the forests are unhealthy and the wildfires are such a big issue.
Just look at AZ, they've got massive mountain redwood forests as well and even drier climate but the feds manage them so you don't see all these headline grabbing wildfires each year.
Re: (Score:2)
He isn't making it up but the WAY they did it is more complicated than hitting delete. They played the usual data manipulation games and discovered if they only reported data which conformed to a standard implemented in 1983 it both reshaped the data to support their climate narrative and gave plausible deniability "we just dropped old data which wasn't up to modern reporting standards."
Despite inconsistent reporting standards the older data clearly showed FAR more forest burned and if anything the inconsis
Disaster Profit (Score:1)
The tech industry is waking up to the fact that there is a lot of money to be made off of the effects of climate change.
To bad there isn't any in harm reduction. See ya'll at +4.5c I guess.
This is a good thing (Score:2)
We spend billions on "defense" which isn't actually defending our territory.
It's a jobs program for defense contractors that makes expensive weapons, used to play chess with the world.
The real enemy that destroys towns is fire
Re: (Score:2)
We spend billions on "defense" which isn't actually defending our territory. It's a jobs program for defense contractors that makes expensive weapons, used to play chess with the world. The real enemy that destroys towns is fire
Especially fires set by grenades and missiles.