Firefighters will soon get help from above to put out increasingly out-of-control wildfires, with Google's AI-powered satellite constellation set to launch next year.
As MIT Technology Review reported, Google and its partners — the Moore Foundation, the satellite company Muon Space, and the Environmental Defense Fund — aim to deploy 52 satellites by 2030 that will provide close-up images of wildfires worldwide.
The FireSat system can detect fires as small as 16 by 16 feet (about the size of a classroom) and deliver refreshed images every 20 minutes.
That's a huge improvement over current satellites that don't refresh images often enough or provide low-resolution images, MIT noted. The global nonprofit Earth Fire Alliance will utilize Google's AI wildfire tools to arm firefighters with more data about the blazes they're battling.
Fire departments will have free access to the images and insights, making it easier to determine where to send firefighters and extinguish small fires before they burn uncontrollably.
"Detecting fires becomes a game of looking for needles in a world of haystacks. Solving this will enable first responders to act quickly and precisely when a fire is detected," Chris Van Arsdale, Google Research's climate and energy group lead and Earth Fire Alliance chairman, told MIT.
Brian Collins, executive director of the Earth Fire Alliance, said that once about half of the constellation is deployed, fire agencies worldwide should get fire updates each hour. So far, Google's charitable arm has given the initiative $13 million in funding.
Earth Fire Alliance believes the total cost for the program will surpass $400 million, which is just a fraction of the economic losses caused by destructive fires in the U.S. each year, Collins said.
Our overheating planet is leading to larger, more intense, and more frequent wildfires worldwide. AI-powered satellites and other tools that can spot wildfires quickly and efficiently will help protect communities and benefit the planet.
Last year in Canada alone, raging wildfires burned nearly 20 million acres of forests and released 3 billion tons of carbon dioxide — roughly four times the pollution created annually by the airline industry — MIT stated, citing a recent study.
FireSat could play a big role in preventing massive fires, which would lead to cleaner air and fewer health issues for people in fire-prone areas.
"It is a game changer, especially as wildfires are becoming more extreme, more frequent, and more dangerous for everyone," Kate Dargan Marquis, a senior wildfire advisor to the Moore Foundation, told MIT. "Information like this will make a lifesaving difference for firefighters and communities around the globe."
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