ALERTCalifornia, the network of live cameras that UC San Diego developed and placed throughout San Diego County and the rest of the state to detect and monitor wildfires, has been named one of the best inventions of 2023 by Time magazine.
The university received special praise for collaborating with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) and industry partner Digital Path in using artificial intelligence to help the network see early signs of fire that might be missed by humans.
Time noted that during a two-month period earlier this year, the system correctly identified 77 fires before anyone had reported them to 911. ALERTCalifornia is composed of 1,050 cameras, 52 of which are located in fire-prone areas of San Diego County.
UCSD set out more than 20 years ago to build a network that could detect and measure earthquakes. Researchers shifted their focus to wildfire detection in the wake of such catastrophes as the Cedar fire, which roared to life in San Diego County 20 years ago this week. The fire killed 15 people, destroyed more than 2,200 homes and burned 273,246 acres.
ALERTCalifornia is one of 200 advances highlighted in Time’s Best Inventions of 2003 issue, released this week. The other advances range from a saliva-based pregnancy test to an augmented reality headset that superimposes data on to the body of patients undergoing an operation to help physicians keep their attention focused in one place.
