The current wisdom in California is that there is no fire season — it’s always fire season. One company, Bee2FireDetection, together with IBM, is taking a high-tech approach to getting out ahead of destructive blazes with artificial intelligence. The system uses three different kinds of cameras, including an optical HD camera that uses IBM’s AI to pick out smoke columns and light variations that may be early indicators of wildfire. The other cameras detect temperature changes and types of smoke. Bee2FireDectection recently opened its first office in the U.S., and is currently being used in Brazil and Portugal. Source: Digital Trends
The Canadian government is getting in on the space game. Telecom company Telesat, a competitor of SpaceX in the Internet vertical, announced a partnership in which the country’s government will contribute $600 million (Canadian dollars) over the next 10 years toward a fleet of low Earth orbit satellites. Another $85 million will go toward STEM education, research and development, and job creation. The satellite network is designed to help rural Canadians access Internet at speeds closer to those found in cities. Source: Engadget