Ryan Honary, a 17-year-old from Newport Harbor High School in California, recently deployed SensoRy AI, a revolutionary wildfire sensor powered by artificial intelligence, which he created to detect fires before they spread out of control.
According to Earth.org, he came up with the idea after a devastating wildfire near his family’s home in 2018. Honary began brainstorming solutions after the terrifying ordeal, and a light bulb went off when he remembered a heat detector he’d built for a fifth-grade school project.
Using that as a blueprint, he designed a wildfire detection system and built the first prototype, which included infrared sensors, a wireless sensor network, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and a smoke-detecting camera.
Honary was chosen as a finalist in The Earth Prize 2024, the world’s largest environmental competition for teenagers. According to the Earth Prize, SensoRy AI serves as “a mini-meteorological station” for detecting wildfires and other natural disasters such as landslides and oil spills.
When the sensors detect a threat, they sound alarms that alert emergency services and nearby residents who may be affected, even in rural areas without communication networks.
According to Earth.org, the device can “detect fires as small as a square foot,” making it ideal for use in California, where small sparks can quickly erupt into massive fires that destroy entire communities, as occurred in the heartbreaking Palisades Fire.
Honary’s unique wildfire detection system piqued the interest of the Orange County Fire Authority, which deployed the device in Irvine last month. SensoRy AI will be installed in stages, with the first focusing on high-risk burn areas in the 40,000-acre Irvine Open Space Preserve, a critical wilderness area in the city.
OCFA Fire Chief Brian Fennessy informed Earth.org: “Early detection is one of our greatest weapons in what has become a year-round fire season, empowering crews to more safely and effectively execute the robust and rapid initial attack required to keep wildfires small.”
As the planet warms, large wildfires become more common and difficult to contain, particularly in California, where warm, dry summers provide ideal fuel for wildfires to start.
Innovative solutions, such as Honary’s, will help protect communities and the environment from the dangers of climate change. SensoRy AI is inexpensive to develop, so it can be easily scaled for deployment in other locations around the world.
For the time being, the system will be stationed primarily in the Irvine area, but Honary has big plans for it. According to SensoRy AI’s website, the early detection technology can be used for a variety of purposes, such as measuring air quality and detecting sparks on utility infrastructure.
The sky is the limit for SensoRy AI, and it’s exciting to think about how the technology will advance in the future. Honary has demonstrated that anyone can take local climate action, and a plan isn’t always required to get started.
“The applications of this technology are limitless and will work to help prevent disasters, reduce production and maintenance costs, and save lives,” the company said.
