NOAA using AI to scan satellite imagery, identify wildfires as they start [Video]

BOULDER, Colo. — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is turning to artificial intelligence (AI) in hopes of catching wildfires right as they start.

The Next Generation Fire System (NGFS) uses AI to scan satellite imagery. The system can identify wildfires as small as one acre in size.

NOAA is testing the system at its Fire Weather Testbed, an “operations-to-research-to-operations” research area in Boulder.

“[It’s] the same way that if I was looking at the satellite and looking to see where a new hot spot is… in the infrared imagery,” said Zach Tolby, manager of NOAA’s Fire Weather Testbed. “The AI technology is trying to do the same thing, right? It’s trying to emulate what I would look at as a human.”

Wildfires can be hard to spot when they start, especially those deep in the mountains or rural areas of the countryside. Quick identification can be important in keeping wildfires …