AI phone app transforms bushwalks into tools for high-tech bushfire prevention
Photo: iStock / Steve Lovegrove.
Snapping a picture on your next bushwalk could now help predict and prevent devastating bushfires, thanks to an innovative new AI-powered mobile phone app.
By Kurtis Eichler
Researchers from the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) and the University of ÐÂÀ˲ÊƱ’s Australian Institute for Machine Learning (AIML) launched the (National Bushfire Resilience Network) app in August.
Users are encouraged to take photos of fire-prone areas showing tree canopies, bark, and ground level plant and shrub cover. The app uses a type of AI called computer vision to analyse the photos and assess the potential bushfire fuel loads; the system can also estimate the severity of a potential bushfire and how far it’s likely to spread.
AIML’s Director of Advanced Reasoning and Learning, Professor Javen Shi, said the AI models have been developed to mimic the eyes of human experts who would ordinarily be scouring bushland for bushfire hazards.