Wildfires burned more than 37.8 million acres of land in the summer of 2023, nearly 10 times more than 2022 and roughly the size of New York state. To fight those wildfires, time is of the essence to get firefighters to the scene after they begin. Rogers Communications is working with SpaceX to deploy a wildfire detection and prevention technology that the companies say will speed help anywhere within Canada’s 894.5 million acres of forest land.
Rogers is using satellite-connected sensors with SpaceX’s low-bandwidth Swarm service to keep an eye out for future wildfires in the remote areas of British Columbia that don’t have wireless networks.
Rogers is also using 360-degree, ultra-high-definition video cameras from a company called Pano, Inc., on its 5G towers to continuously scan the landscape using artificial intelligence to spot, evaluate, and signal wildfire activity within a 15-mile radius. The wireless company is also donating satellite phones to the British Columbia Search and Rescue Association to support first responders.
“Early detection of wildfires is critical in preventing their spread to help protect communities and our forests,” said Sonia Kastner, CEO, Pano AI. “With the reach of Rogers 5G network, we are proud to work together to deploy our AI-powered cameras to detect, confirm and pinpoint new fire ignitions within minutes in some of the most remote parts of British Columbia.”
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