Latest news with #PanoAI
Geek Wire
14-07-2025
- Geek Wire
Washington opens wildfire surveillance feeds to public as fire season ramps up
A hazy view from a Pano AI wildfire-detection camera deployed near the town of Tonasket in Washington's Okanogan County. (Screen grab from DNR site) Washington state officials are now streaming surveillance camera feeds from 21 locations, allowing the public to remotely monitor for Pacific Northwest wildfires in real-time. Forecasters say there's an above-average risk for fires in the region this summer due to lower-than-normal precipitation earlier in the year and projections for higher temperatures. While the artificial intelligence deployed by Pano AI will almost certainly spot blazes first, people can scan the rotating 360-degree camera feeds to get a visual sense of air quality and potentially watch fires as they develop. The Washington Department of Natural Resources launched a pilot program with Pano AI in 2023, placing cameras at sites where wildfire risk is high and the chances of a person reporting it are lower, based on historical data and models. Five more cameras are scheduled to come online this year. 'When Pano AI approached us with a new publicly accessible camera feed feature, it was an easy yes,' said George Geissler, DNR's state forester and deputy supervisor responsible for wildland fire management, in a statement. 'Early detection is a key part of DNR's wildfire rapid response model,' he added, 'and now Washingtonians can peek behind the scenes at how part of that detection process works.' Last year, the California startup's technology found an undiscovered fire in Mason County, alerting fire departments who were able to put the fire out in hours, limiting the burn to less than 20 acres. DNR has a contract with Pano AI through 2029. Other wildfire and smoke-related information is available from the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center (NWCC), Washington Smoke Blog, which is run by government agencies and Tribes; PurpleAir; and the Washington State Department of Ecology's air quality map.
News.com.au
18-06-2025
- News.com.au
AI technology could ‘fundamentally change the game' in fighting bushfires
Pano AI Co-founder Arvind Satyam discusses how new AI technology will aid in bushfire detection and help prevent mega-fires. 'This technology is fundamentally about using AI to detect bushfires as soon as they emerge,' Mr Satyam told Sky News Australia. "If you can apply technology to detect the incidents as soon as they start … you can make a lot of those early decisions that can fundamentally change the game in terms of whether that becomes a large-scale incident or whether you can keep it down.'
Wall Street Journal
16-06-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
AI Wildfire Detection Startup Raises $44 Million
Artificial intelligence is coming for wildfires. Pano AI, a startup that is using AI to detect wildfires before they explode into massive conflagrations, has raised a $44 million funding round. The San Francisco-based startup says the capital will help it deploy more of its technology in wildfire-prone areas including California and Australia.
Fox News
11-06-2025
- Fox News
Fire departments turn to AI to detect wildfires faster
ASPEN, Colo. – A growing number of fire departments across the country are turning to artificial intelligence to help detect and respond to wildfires more quickly. In Aspen, Colorado, fire officials say wildfire risk has shifted from being a seasonal concern to a year-round threat. To meet that challenge, they're using AI-powered cameras to detect smoke — sometimes before 911 calls even come in. Arvind Satyam is the co-founder and chief commercial officer of Pano AI. "They're getting a full 360-degree picture of the landscape," said Satyam. High in the mountains, rotating cameras scan the terrain for smoke. If the system detects a potential fire, the alert is reviewed by a human team. Verified alerts are then sent to Aspen Fire via text or email, along with the exact location, Satyam said. "We run a smoke detection algorithm," Satyam said. "So essentially looking at the imagery to determine is that smoke or not smoke." Satyam said the devices can also give satellite views of the terrain, and overlay a picture of the weather to understand wind speed and relative humidity. Aspen Fire was the first department in the U.S. to adopt the technology four years ago, when rising wildfire risk began driving up insurance costs in the area, Pano AI leaders and Aspen Fire Department officials said. "It gives us that instantaneous intelligence and not off of, you know, hoping we get someone there quickly," said Jake Andersen, deputy chief of operations for Aspen Fire. Aspen officials aim to have crews on the scene within five minutes — something they say would be nearly impossible without precise location data. Fire officials say their fire crews can also access the Pano AI map on their phones while responding to calls. The system can track heat signatures at night and monitor hot spots for days after a fire. Aspen Fire Chief Rick Balentine said the device especially helps with the terrain in Aspen. Balentine said a recent example of when they used Pano AI was for Aspen's Sunnyside Prescribed Fire. The 900-acre Sunnyside Prescribed Fire was ignited back in April of this year on the south face of Red Mountain, fire officials said. The department used Pano AI cameras to monitor that fire and prevent it from spreading beyond the designated area, Baletine said. The system is now used across 10 states: Colorado, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Texas, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona and Montana. Multiple fire agencies can share alerts across those regions and coordinate response efforts. "Having this type of tool for our department, it makes all the difference in the world to understand the conditions we are sending our firefighters into," said Ali Hammond, Aspen Fire's director of community wildfire resistance.
CBS News
24-05-2025
- CBS News
Colorado county gets high tech, uses fire suppression heliteam and AI to combat wildfires
A fire department in Colorado has modernized the way it fights wildfires with high-tech solutions. Last year, Douglas County's fire suppression helicopter and helitack team responded to 34 wildfires, including nine outside the county. But it's not the only tool the county is using to fight wildfires. Your reporter in Douglas County learned about how AI is being used to detect wildfires early and send that data to first responders. CBS When a fire sparks, the Pano AI camera can detect it within minutes. "It might be a small camera, but it's looking out miles and miles into the distance," said Peter Ambler, Vice President for Government Affairs, Pano AI. Ambler says the technology recognizes the very first wisps of smoke. CBS "These are fixed in areas with pre-existing high fire risk. They're going on cell towers, on mountaintops, oftentimes in some of the most rugged and remote landscapes," Ambler said. "They rotate 360 degrees, stitching together a 360-degree panoramic feed, the artificial intelligence then crawls that feed." The company partners with utilities like Xcel Energy and CORE Electric and has 12 camera stations in Douglas County. Once one of them spots a fire, first responders like Jason Lownsdale and the county's helitack team are in the air in five minutes. "My position is to supervise the crew and to fly front seat in the helicopter manager role, talking on the radio air-to-ground frequencies before I get out," said Jason Lownsdale, emergency service unit supervisor for the Douglas County helitack program. The team can be anywhere in the county in 12 minutes. From the air, they size up the fire and report back to dispatch, then they hit the ground. "Once we get on scene, the crew will hop out, unload all of our line gear, our IA bag, initial attack bag, that has all of our hand tools, some medical equipment, our chainsaw and fuel," Lownsdale said. CBS While the crew fights the fire from the ground, the helicopter drops 300 gallons of water from above. In the last year, Pano's AI detection helped stop the Bear Creek and Turkey Track fires in Douglas County. Together, the technology and quick work of first responders means a rapid response that Douglas County says saves property, resources and lives. "It's not really a season anymore. It can happen whenever. When we get a fire is, yeah, we'll be ready," Lownsdale said. Right now, Pano has 86 AI camera stations in Colorado. In just a few months, that number will be 163.
