Pano AI’s Early Bushfire Detection Technology Gives Southern Cross Forests More Tools to Prevent Bushfires in New South Wales

Written by News Direct

TUMUT, AUSTRALIA - News Direct - 8 March 2022 - Pano AI , the leader in early bushfire detection and intelligence, announced a pilot program that brings its AI-powered solution to detect and pinpoint bushfires in their early stages to Southern Cross Forests’ softwood forests in New South Wales, two years after the record-breaking “Black Summer” bushfires burned more than 5.5 million hectares in NSW alone.

Image: Pano Rapid Detect's artificial intelligence detects a fire in New South Wales.

Southern Cross Forests (SCF) will deploy Pano Rapid Detect, Pano’s integrated hardware, software, and AI system, to gain greater situational awareness to aid in its response to bushfires. Pano Rapid Detect continuously monitors areas of high fire risk using ultra-high-definition cameras that rotate 360-degrees every minute and provide complete panoramic visibility. By merging this rich camera data with emergency calls and other available data feeds, Pano AI’s artificial intelligence produces a real-time picture of threats and delivers rapid, actionable intelligence to fire services.

“Our industry is still recovering from the devastating bushfires of two years ago. We have to find more tools to help us detect fires and fight them as soon as they form,” said Jake Lazarus, General Manager of Southern Cross Forests. “Pano’s all-in-one detection and notification system will help us detect small fires before they become larger threats to regional plantations and communities.”

The historic 2019-2020 bushfire season burned more than 11 million hectares across Australia, dumping 434 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, taking 33 lives, displacing thousands, and devastating native plant and animal species. Those fires, fueled by drought, were the worst on record for New South Wales, where thousands of firefighters worked to contain the spread of fire over a nine-month period.

“We can’t rely on outdated technology when climate change creates conditions that make bushfires more frequent and more dangerous,” said Pano Chief Commercial Officer, Arvind Satyam. “We built Pano Rapid Detect for partners like Southern Cross Forests that want to leverage AI and other cutting-edge technologies to stop bushfires from becoming catastrophic events that devastate communities, businesses, forests, and wildlife.”

Pano AI, in partnership with local governments and utility companies, has successfully deployed its early fire detection and notification system across high-risk fire zones in four U.S. states. During the 2021 U.S. fire season, Pano Rapid Detect identified, confirmed, and notified customers of more than 100 fires in these states. Pano AI's end-to-end solution sets itself apart in the industry with its low rate of false-positive alerts, enabling fire and rescue services to allocate resources where they are needed most.

To learn more about Pano AI’s wildfire detection technology, please visit: https://www.pano.ai ^[3]

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