The disaster tech Innovators in 2023
Responding to the urgent global need for effective wildfire suppression, Team Wildfire is building powerful jet engine-enabled, “hurricanes on wheels” to push back destructive fires.
A $3.7M seed round led by Cottonwood Tech Fund, and joined principally by MUUS Climate Partners, Tim Draper, and Techstars, enables Team Wildfire to build and test game-changing technology for fighting wildfires.
Steve Wolf, Team Wildfire’s CEO, who coordinated special effects for Tom Cruise and James Cameron, is mounting jet engines with retardant injectors onto logging trucks, turning movie tech into life-saving tech. “In wildfires, the wind owns the fire. If you want to control a fire, you have to own the wind.”
Compared to passive observational tech such as cameras, sensors and satellites, Wolf notes that “data doesn’t douse fires,” and turned towards the obvious need… “actually putting out fires.” “High tech smoke detectors won’t help you much if you don’t have a working fire extinguisher.”
With co-founders Wildfire Commander Dan Eamon and Fire Rescue Chief Andy Amalfitano, the team is working with Oak Ridge National Labs and hot shot veterans to revolutionize wildfire suppression capabilities. Wildfires account for billions of tons of carbon emissions.
“Team Wildfire,” says Dave Blivin, Cottonwood managing partner, “brings a unique approach, applying deep expertise to a problem that affects the lives and property of millions. Their solution could soon become the new standard in wildfire suppression, to counter the ‘new normal’ in fires.”
Tim Draper notes, “Team Wildfire has found a crazy solution to a crazy problem. We need this, and now.”
“Wildfires are going from bad to worse, fast." said Greg Schwab, Chief of Boulder Rural FD. “If we don’t get powerful new tools like this quickly, we’ll have no chance against the fires coming our way. ”
Team Wildfire’s tech is designed to create fire breaks and mobile safety zones, protect evacuation routes, and directly attack fire faster, cheaper, and with less water.
AI.Apple's Advanced Manufacturing Fund has invested US$450m into infrastructure supporting Emergency SOS via satellite for iPhone 14 models, allowing them to connect directly to a satellite and contact emergency services when outside of cellular and Wi-Fi coverage.
This is crucial for California, which faces various natural disasters such as earthquakes, wildfires, and tsunami threats.
JAXA Japan, made up of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), the National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan (NAL), and the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), uses satellites to collect data and share it across the Asia-Pacific region, playing a large role in disaster recovery and creating maps of damaged areas.
The CENTAURO project, led by Professor Sven Behnke at The University of Bonn, Germany, aims to develop a human-robot symbiotic system with a human operator capable of robust locomotion and dexterous manipulation for conditions seen in natural disasters or nuclear catastrophes. The robots will be able to enter the site of such a nuclear accident, repair damage, collect data, and even rescue trapped humans or other robots.
Pano AI, a company in San Francisco, uses AI, satellite feeds, and 360-degree cameras to provide immediate intelligence for firefighters during disasters. Its early wildfire detection is available for governments, utilities, insurers, and private landowners.
Pano's 24/7 intelligence center confirms the fire and alerts customers within minutes, helping authorities quickly share real-time intelligence to their extended and remote team, enabling a fast and coordinated response. UAV Navigation, based in Madrid, Spain, has been developing flight control avionics for the world's first practical jetpack for first responders in natural disaster recovery.
The company aims to provide light to earthquake survivors, as kerosene lamps could cause more damage to their health.
Solight Design, a company in New York, sells and distributes solar-powered products that are lightweight, compact, self-inflating, and sustainable for everyday use and those recovering from a disaster.
Apopo, founded in Morogoro, Tanzania, focuses on mine clearance technology for low-income countries. The company uses rats, which have outstanding scent detection and are fitted with a high-tech backpack, location-device, and camera to help the team find active landmines.
Apopo now has Mine Action operations in Cambodia, Zimbabwe, Angola, and Mozambique. Graduate rats of Apopo are also being trained for use in places of natural disaster, where they can slip easily through rubble to find survivors.
Starlink, a division within SpaceX, has 10,000 employees and CEO Elon Musk. Starlink satellites deliver high-speed, broadband internet to places where access is unreliable, expensive, or simply unavailable. They can be deployed in minutes to support emergency responders in disaster scenarios around the world and those living in rural communities.
The Hoh tribe, a Native American group in western Washington state, tweeted that the Starlink network had been warmly received by local residents.
However, CEO Elon Musk has been involved in controversy over the use of Starlink's service to control drones. While Starlink has assisted Ukraine's army with broadband communications in its defense from Russia's invasion, Musk ensured that the service could not be used to control drones as the business is not to be 'weaponised'.
In other hand, Drones have become a crucial tool in search and rescue operations during disasters.
Drones can be equipped with multispectral sensors, they can detect body heat, making them useful in hard-to-reach areas like peaks and damaged buildings.
They can also create 3D maps of affected areas, aiding in the assessment of damage and planning of response. Real-time data from drones can help emergency responders make informed decisions and respond quickly to changing conditions.
They can also assess damage to buildings and infrastructure, prioritizing response efforts and allocating resources more effectively. Additionally, drones provide aerial footage for surveillance and monitoring, enabling the identification of potential hazards and the location of missing persons.
The global natural disaster detection IoT market is projected to grow from USD 0.3 billion in 2022 to USD 1.7 billion by 2027 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 36.0% during the forecast period.
Collecting near-real-time data by using IoT devices and sensors is driving the natural disaster detection IoT market growth.
Floating sensor networks segment is expected to account for a larger market share during the forecast period
Developed at UC Berkley has launched a new model for gathering information from a river's floating object in a flood situation. It is a compact and commercial floating object, which is outfitted with a camera and accelerated sensor for the Global Positioning System (GPS). The floating object tracks sudden fluctuations or incremental shifts in water and is automatically transmitted through web alerts to local citizens.
Managed services segment is estimated to account for a higher CAGR during the forecast period
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The complexities of IoT are handled by IoT-managed services providers with a broad range of services and expertise to simplify the process of procuring, connecting, configuring, and deploying devices worldwide.
Connecting with an IoT-managed services provider facilitates businesses to manage risks, reduce costs, and improve time to market. They achieve this through comprehensive device management, wireless connectivity, network management, and forward and reverse logistics.
Satellite Assisted Equipment segment to account for the largest market share during the forecast period
For many years satellite service providers have helped predict, map out, and deliver live information to reduce damage and fatalities during natural disasters and emergencies.
The satellite-based disaster management approaches have normally relied on visually assessing the latest images, one area at a time. Hence, the use of AI and satellite mapping techniques by scientists are speeding up the process of disaster management.
Among regions, Asia Pacific recorded the highest CAGR during the forecast period
Asia Pacific constitutes thriving economies, such as Singapore, Japan, China, India, and Australia, which are expected to register high growth rates in the natural disaster detection IoT market.
The region faces the worst climatic changes. In the worst-case climate change scenario, the sum of people at high risk in the Asia Pacific region will increase by around one-third.
These susceptible people are mainly situated in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna basin, the Indus basin, parts of South-East Asia, and some Pacific Island countries. These are the emerging and intensifying risks in the region. Industry 4.0 innovations in robotics, analytics, AI, cognitive technologies, nanotechnology, quantum computing, wearables, IoT and big data can be utilized for disaster resilience.
Also, governments are increasingly investing in these technologies that will ensure even the poorest countries and most omitted communities can be empowered.
Also, one of the most significant technological advancements in disaster management is the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT is a network of interconnected devices that can communicate with each other and share data.
IoT sensors can collect data on environmental factors such as air quality, humidity, temperature, and water levels.
By analyzing this data, authorities can assess risks and take preventive measures to reduce the impact of disasters. Another IoT application is interconnection with different devices. IoT devices can activate fire suppression systems and send alerts, helping to decrease the chances of disaster destruction.IoT can also be used for loss and disaster prevention. IoT solutions can be beneficial for preventing accidents and disasters in the energy sector.
For example, IoT sensors can detect temperature, vibration, humidity, pressure, and motion remotely and send alerts if they notice any abnormality in these patterns. AI and machine learning can also process data for effective decision-making and predictive analysis.
IoT can also be used for search and rescue operations during disasters. Drones equipped with multispectral sensors can detect body heat, making them useful in search and rescue missions.
They can search hard-to-reach regions, like peaks, damaged buildings, etc., for missing people or animals. Drones can also be used to create 3D maps of affected areas, which can help emergency responders assess damage and plan their response.
Additionally, IoT can reduce costs by improving early warning systems, damage assessment, and search and rescue operations. Overall, IoT is a promising technology that can make communities safer and more resilient to disasters.
The Internet of Things (IoT) has the potential to revolutionize disaster management, but it also presents several challenges that need to be addressed.
One of the main challenges is the implementation and management of a massive number of IoT devices in large-scale disasters. It can be a complex task to handle, and authorities need to ensure that the devices are interconnected and cooperating with each other.
Another challenge is connectivity. IoT devices need to overcome differences in networking hardware and software, and they need to be able to dynamically respond to the lack of internet connection.
Prioritization is also a challenge. In case of disaster, systems would need to automatically prioritize data traffic to ensure critical communications take precedence.Acceptance is another challenge.
People need to be willing to let their devices be used as relays and part of the communications network, which they wouldn't have control over.
There is a strong feeling that there would be a major big hurdle, and legislation would probably be required to make it happen.
Despite these challenges, IoT has promising capabilities in disaster management that can be helpful in emergencies. Governments can use IoT in disaster management to plan better and minimize the impact of the disaster.
There are several companies and organizations that are using AI to address heat stress for outdoor workers. Here are some examples:
Fujitsu has developed an AI-based algorithm that can estimate heat stress levels in workers who continually work outdoors. The algorithm can monitor heat stress levels in workers and estimate the ongoing heat stress.
Everguard.ai has developed a worker-centric AI-powered wearable solution that reduces the risk of injury due to heat stress, dehydration, fatigue, and musculoskeletal disorders resulting from repetitive motion.
The global Homeland Security and Emergency Management market is expected to reach USD 1357.61 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 7.28%.
The market is driven by increasing global terrorism threats, natural disasters, climate change impact, risk management awareness, international collaborations, and demand for critical infrastructure protection.
Key trends include the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, adoption of cloud computing and big data analytics, use of drones and unmanned systems for surveillance and response, focus on interoperability and data sharing across agencies, emphasis on resilience and adaptive planning, increasing use of biometrics and identity management solutions, and the growing importance of social media and open-source intelligence.
The government is the leading end-use segment, with substantial budgets and resources allocated to security initiatives, emergency response systems, and infrastructure protection.
North America is also a leading market due to technological advancements, particularly in the United States.
The report analyzes major players in the market, highlighting their ongoing efforts to develop innovative solutions to meet the growing demand for Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
Edited by Hugi Hernandez
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