Wildfire detection firm Pano AI completed initial pilots with Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) and Portland General Electric through Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Incubatenergy Labs.
The pilot programs have demonstrated the power of ultra-high-definition imagery and artificial intelligence to detect fires, enhancing situational awareness to prevent potential devastation.
“The pilot with Pano AI has demonstrated our ability to leverage technology to support and enhance our situational awareness,” said Ben Almario, Director of Wildfire Safety Operations at PG&E. “The technology will provide actual intelligence to support our decision making and also allow us to monitor multiple fires in a geographic area. The pilot has demonstrated that we can understand the risk of a wildfire as it relates to our assets.”
“At Portland General Electric, we are facing increasing risks due to wildfires across our service territory. In order to address these risks, we will need to leverage technology that will supplement our own staff,” said Jay Landstrom, Senior Manager of Wildfire Analytics and Resiliency for Portland General Electric. “Pano AI’s cameras, in addition to their intelligence center, could help PGE detect potential fire starts before they become catastrophic fire events. Early intelligence will be critical information that will help keep our customers and our field personnel safe.”
“Today, we all have a front row seat as climate change increases the risk of impactful fire across the globe. And as we know these fires started out small. The faster the fire detection, the less chance we will have with an out of control wildfire,” said Doug Dorr, Program Manager of EPRI. “It’s been impressive to watch what started as an interesting idea to detect smoke using AI and no human intervention turn into a successful collaboration between EPRI, PG&E, Portland General, and Pano AI.”
San Francisco based Pano AI provides a platform that enables utilities to quickly detect, assess, and pinpoint new fires earlier, so that they can be contained while still small.
Leveraging a network of connected, ultra-high-definition cameras continuously rotating atop high vantage points, Pano Rapid Detect captures a dynamic 360-degree panoramic view of the landscape every minute. This rich camera data, combined with satellite imagery, emergency call details, and other data feeds enables Pano AI’s artificial intelligence to monitor for threats and provide actionable intelligence in a single, intuitive interface.
“We know that minutes matter when it comes to wildfire response. Our vision is to create a network of cutting-edge cameras, as well as integrate existing video feeds, that leverage our artificial intelligence and our intuitive software to provide timely and accurate alerts for situational awareness teams to prevent small flare ups from becoming large infernos,” said Arvind Satyam, Pano AI Chief Commercial Officer.
Recognizing that the growing threat of climate change presents a challenge to wildfire mitigation, Pano is actively working to protect communities from the dangers of wildfire devastation. In addition to Pano’s new large-scale utility partners, California fire departments and private companies have also adopted Pano AI to track wildfires in high-risk areas as soon as the first wisps of smoke appear. Pano AI partnerships include Aspen, Colorado; Portland, Oregon; Big Sky, Montana, and multiple regions around California.
