exci has been invited to present its innovative early bush/wildfire detection system to the audience at the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, taking place in Brisbane from 19-22 September 2022.
The conference is hosted by the Australian Government in partnership with the United Nations Office for Disaster Reduction (UNDRR). 3,000 delegates from more than 40 countries are expected to participate, including ministers, government officials and representatives of private and not-for-profit sectors. Minister Murray Watt said the event was a “critical forum”. The theme of the conference is ‘From Crisis to Resilience: Transforming the Asia-Pacific Region’s future through disaster risk reduction’.
The Conference will feature three 75-minute plenary sessions, with one focused on each of the three conference pillars:
- Investing in Resilience and Preparedness
- Shock-proofed Infrastructure and Systems
- Resilient Communities
The plenary session about risk-informed investment in resilience and preparedness goes into low investment in proactive prevention before disasters strike compared to the level of investment in reactive disaster response and recovery.
Even though wildfires have always the potential to be destructive, the actions we take to mitigate, prepare, and respond to severe wildfires will ultimately determine the level of severity and the degree of recovery from social, environmental, and economic impacts. The best way to reduce the incidence and severity of wildfires is simple: Detect fires early and put them out fast before they get out of control and cause catastrophic damage. Yet, currently detecting a wildfire relies on the human eye which can take up to 90 minutes after ignition for the fire to be noticed and reported.
With the increasing number, intensity and frequency of bush/wildfires due to climate change, there is an urgent need to invest in innovative solutions that are capable to detect bushfires as quickly as possible following ignition with the aim to rapidly attack, contain and extinguish new fires before they take hold and overwhelm firefighting capabilities.
Christopher Tylor, the Managing Director of exci, will demonstrate exci’s unequaled, innovative solution to this global problem.
Presentation topic
exci’s early bushfire detection and notification system – The Smoke Alarm for the Bush
Meet Christopher Tylor
When: Thursday, 22 September at 1:15 pm
Location: Ignite Stage – Great Halls 3 & 4
exci’s AI-based system detects wildfires automatically within minutes after ignition, combining satellite and ground-based sensor data that are analysed by powerful deep machine learning algorithms (artificial intelligence) for the presence of smoke and heat. Even small fires are automatically detected within minutes after ignition, with a near-zero rate of false positives.
If a fire is detected, reports are immediately presented to the relevant users, such as first responders or asset owners. This enables emergency services and firefighters to rapidly attack, contain and extinguish new bushfires before they get out of control and overwhelm their firefighting capabilities. A critical component of community resilience is the existence of local early warning systems. exci’s early bushfire detection and notification system mitigates significantly the social, environmental, and economic impact of fires on communities.
The effectiveness of exci’s system was demonstrated in commercial rollouts in Australia (plantations with over 2 million hectares) and in a large-scale proof of concept in California (over 125 million acres). During the 2021 California fire season, exci’s AI processed over one billion images per year from ground-based cameras as well as analysed more than 500,000 satellite images.
by Gabrielle Tylor
exci pty ltd
20 September 2022
