Time Magazine recognizes Cal Fire AI as a ‘Best Invention of 2023’
Photo from Alert California website.
Alert California utilizes AI to monitor over 1,000 cameras throughout the state to detect wildfires
– This week, California’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) to detect wildfires was recognized as a “Best Invention of 2023” by Time Magazine.
The innovative partnership between Cal Fire’s Wildfire AI Detector and the University of California San Diego’s Alert California utilizes AI to monitor over 1,000 cameras throughout the state to detect wildfires, allowing Cal Fire to respond faster. Within the past four months alone, AI has already detected 77 wildfires.
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s first budget in 2019 funded 100 of these cameras, and the program has grown ever since.
“California is fighting fires smarter, combining cutting-edge technology with a world-class firefighting force – all to better protect our communities,” Governor Newsom said: CAL FIRE has been spearheading this effort from the very beginning, proactively partnering with UC San Diego and embracing innovation in their constant efforts to make California more resilient to wildfires.”
“The greatest success stories of this [system] are the fires you never hear about,” says Falco Kuester, co-principal investigator at AlertCalifornia.
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