This Quebec company is pitching its balloons and A.I. system to combat wildfires
During Canada’s worst forest fire year on record, a Montreal start-up says they’ve created a system to help authorities deal with future blazes.
“Here we have the balloon,” said company president and co-founder Katrina Albert, gesturing towards the large white sphere inflated in LUX Aerobot’s Quebec studio. The company uses the balloons to collect data on forest fires which, with the use of A.I., can predict their progression.
After ascending into the stratosphere, Albert says they can stay in the air for days capturing high-resolution images. The data can be quickly shared with authorities on the ground, the company says.
“Not only are you preventing the fires from expanding and then potentially damaging infrastructure, and obviously have an impact on the population, but also you prevent them from emitting CO2,” said Albert.
LUX Aerobot has already secured a $500,000 contract with celebrity entrepreneur Robert Herjavec of Dragon’s Den. It says it’s also signed a contract with Australia’s defence force, and it’s in talks with Quebec’s wildfire response agency SOPFEU.
THE 'BLOCKBUSTER' YEAR
Quebec’s wildfires wreaked havoc on local forests and air quality across eastern North America this year.
In late June, Montreal topped the charts for the world’s worst air quality due to 80 consectuive wildfires scorching northern Quebec. Those with lung conditions were warned to stay indoors as shifting winds sent a thick haze of smoke southbound through the city and into the United States.
A firefighter walks toward a major field and forest fire at Lambert Peat moss fields in Riviere-Ouelle, Que., Friday, June 19, 2020. The fire spread over more than 10 km, pushed by strong winds. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot
SOPFEU’s Information Technology and Performance Director Olivier Lundqvist called it a “blockbuster.”
“It’s a season we couldn’t have imagined,” he told CTV. Agencies like SOPFEU rely in-part on satellites for fire imaging.
“We really only get one or two images per day, and then as soon as there's cloud cover that's not even useful,” said Lundqvist.
SOPFEU is planning to run LUX Aerobot’s balloons through a series of field tests next year. The company hopes to expand their services to include monitoring of other natural disasters, such as floods, coastal erosion, as well as arctic security.
“It's really investing in new innovation that will help us address these challenges that are to come,” said Albert.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Chants of 'shame on you' greet guests arriving for the annual White House correspondents' dinner
An election-year roast of U.S. President Joe Biden before journalists, celebrities and politicians at the annual White House correspondents' dinner Saturday.
What is a 'halal mortgage'? Does it make housing more accessible?
The 2024 federal budget announced on April 16 included plans to introduce “halal mortgages” as a way to increase access to home ownership.
Here's where Canadians are living abroad: report
A recent report sheds light on Canadians living abroad--estimated at around four million people in 2016—and the public policies that impact them.
Deadly six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 sparked by road rage incident
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Harvey Weinstein hospitalized after return to New York from upstate prison
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said Saturday that the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a battery of tests after his return to New York City following an appeals court ruling nullifying his 2020 rape conviction.
'We are declaring our readiness': No decision made yet as Poland declares it's ready to host nuclear weapons
Polish President Andrzej Duda says while no decision has been made around whether Poland will host nuclear weapons as part of an expansion of the NATO alliance’s nuclear sharing program, his country is willing and prepared to do so.
Central Alberta queer groups react to request from Red Deer-South to reinstate Jennifer Johnson to UCP caucus
A number of LGBQT+2s groups in Central Alberta are pushing back against a request from the Red Deer South UCP constituency to reinstate MLA Jennifer Johnson into the UCP caucus.