The awards acknowledge innovative, entrepreneurial and successful alumni who have made a profound impact in their professional fields and in the community.
There are three award categories recognising the finalists and their efforts towards social, environmental and technological challenges, combining people and technology to make change for good.
Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Pascale Quester says she continues to be amazed by the work of Swinburne alumni around the world.
“It is fantastic to see that this year’s finalists have gone out into the world to make a real difference, after studying with us at Swinburne,” says Professor Quester.
“We recognise these finalists not just for their exceptional abilities, but for their determination and tenacity. I congratulate the finalists for 2022, and I wish you all the best of luck in your endeavours.”
The Innovative Planet Impact Award is for a Swinburne alum whose exceptional endeavour has resulted in a significant impact on local and/or global environmental sustainability.
The co-founders and directors of exci, Christopher and Gabrielle Tylor, have been announced as the Finalists for the Innovative Planet Impact Award.
Christopher graduated with a Master of Science (Astronomy) and Gabrielle graduated with a Bachelor of Social Science (Psychology) at the Swinburne University of Technology.
Gabrielle and Christopher Tylor are passionate about finding innovative solutions to mitigate climate change. Observing and experiencing the climate change-driven implications of unprecedented fire disasters across the globe that destroyed millions of hectares of land, lives, ecological systems, and infrastructure, Gabrielle and Christopher decided to develop and commercialise a proprietary scalable AI-powered early bushfire detection and notification system.
exci’s team successfully developed an unequalled, innovative solution to the global problem of unprecedented wildfires due to climate change. exci’s early wildfire detection system is powered by proprietary deep machine learning algorithms (artificial intelligence) that analyse data from ground-based cameras and satellites for the presence of smoke and heat. If a fire is detected, reports are immediately presented to the relevant users, such as first responders or asset owners. Even small fires are automatically detected within minutes after ignition, with a near-zero rate of false positives.
During the 2021 California fire season, exci’s system processed over one billion images per year from ground-based cameras as well as analysed more than 500,000 satellite images (30GB per day). It monitored over 125 million acres around the clock from Mexico to Canada covering California, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, and Washington.
Having an impact on global environmental sustainability is the core of exci’s business. Christopher and Gabrielle believe that new and innovative technologies such as exci’s AI-based early wildfire detection system can help us to enable a sustainable future. Instead of being part of the problem, they want to be part of the solution by reducing the impact of wildfires on the environment and those threatened by them.
by Gabrielle Tylor
exci pty ltd
18 September 2022
