Technology to Aid Climate Resiliency
One of my historical research interests is the technological innovations that were born in the Bay Area. I find some of the innovations currently being tested to combat climate change to be particularly interesting and possibly applicable to the circumstances facing the East Bay Regional Parks.
One local start up has created a remote controlled vehicle that safely burns away invasive plants and other unwanted vegetation without creating smoke. The BurnBot claims to provide ten times the efficiency of other wildlife management strategies (including goats) and can cover one hundred times the acreage by "blazing" trails and creating burn scars that will block fire from progressing.
Artificial Intelligence is also being touted as a new firefighting technique. With the help of thousands of networked night-vision equipped cameras, fires can now be detected faster. While there are several articles about this, recently ABC news reported on the technology which was recognized last year as TIME [magazine's] "best invention" of the year.
I look forward to learning more!