Taming Wild Fires Before They Spiral: Part 2 – User Experience
UF Innovate | Accelerate resident client Fire Neural Network (FNN) was spotlighted for its AI-powered wildfire detection system, which emphasizes user experience in addressing critical environmental challenges.
The economic impact of wildfires in the U.S. is staggering, by some estimates in the range of ~$1T/year. The toll on human lives (firefighters and the public) and the environment is also significant, with estimates of ~15,000 lives lost in 2006-2022 due to smoke inhalation alone.
Lightning is a major cause of wildfires, accounting for the most acreage burnt (70% of the wildfire-burned land in the West were from lightning-sparked fires). According to FNN CEO Dr. Istvan Kereszy, “this was a major factor in securing funding from the federal government to develop sensors capable of detecting all lightning within a 20-mile radius and pinpointing the few, high-intensity strikes most likely to ignite fires. These sensors can rapidly alert authorities, giving firefighters critical early warning, and managing them before they spiral out of control”.
Read more about Taming Wild Fires Before They Spiral: Part 2 – User Experience.To learn more about the technology powering FNN’s wildfire detection system, read Part 1 here, which explains how AI enables a national and global early warning network.