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Summarize this content to 100 words The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection introduced the ALERT California fire detection program. The agency developed a solution that uses artificial intelligence in collaboration with the University of California, San Diego.ALERTCalifornia receives data from more than 1,000 360° rotating cameras and uses AI for “anomaly detection”. The program then notifies emergency services and other authorities to check whether a potential fire needs intervention.Launched in July, the solution has already helped extinguish at least one forest fire. The camera recorded the fire at 3 a.m. in a remote area of the forest east of San Diego. II alerted the local inspector, who called in about 60 firefighters, including seven engines, two bulldozers, two water tankers and two hand crews. The fire was extinguished within 45 minutes, the department reported.The program scans using lidars, which are placed on planes and drones, to create accurate three-dimensional information. The system also takes into account the physical characteristics of tree species to learn more about California’s forest biomass and carbon content. The model uses petabytes of data from the cameras to distinguish between smoke and other particles in the air, the department added.ALERTCalifornia was developed on the basis of II Californian company DigitalPath. Over the past four years, the department has invested more than $20 million in the program, and plans to invest more than $3.5 million in the near future.Neil Driscoll, a professor of geology and geophysics at the University of California, San Francisco, told Reuters that ALERT California’s current sample size is too small to determine the overall effectiveness of the program.The platform collects a significant amount of additional information, he said, including aerial photography to quantify vegetation and map the Earth’s surface under the canopy. Aircraft and drones receive data in the infrared and other wavelengths. During winter, ALERTCalifornia is able to measure atmospheric rivers and snow cover. On the website of the system, you can see real-time images of the region taken with the help of remotely controlled cameras.
California began using AI to prevent forest fires
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection introduced the ALERT California fire detection program. The agency developed a solution that uses artificial intelligence in collaboration with the University of California, San Diego.
ALERTCalifornia receives data from more than 1,000 360° rotating cameras and uses AI for “anomaly detection”. The program then notifies emergency services and other authorities to check whether a potential fire needs intervention.
Launched in July, the solution has already helped extinguish at least one forest fire. The camera recorded the fire at 3 a.m. in a remote area of the forest east of San Diego. II alerted the local inspector, who called in about 60 firefighters, including seven engines, two bulldozers, two water tankers and two hand crews. The fire was extinguished within 45 minutes, the department reported.
The program scans using lidars, which are placed on planes and drones, to create accurate three-dimensional information. The system also takes into account the physical characteristics of tree species to learn more about California’s forest biomass and carbon content. The model uses petabytes of data from the cameras to distinguish between smoke and other particles in the air, the department added.
ALERTCalifornia was developed on the basis of II Californian company DigitalPath. Over the past four years, the department has invested more than $20 million in the program, and plans to invest more than $3.5 million in the near future.
Neil Driscoll, a professor of geology and geophysics at the University of California, San Francisco, told Reuters that ALERT California’s current sample size is too small to determine the overall effectiveness of the program.
The platform collects a significant amount of additional information, he said, including aerial photography to quantify vegetation and map the Earth’s surface under the canopy. Aircraft and drones receive data in the infrared and other wavelengths. During winter, ALERTCalifornia is able to measure atmospheric rivers and snow cover.
On the website of the system, you can see real-time images of the region taken with the help of remotely controlled cameras.
