For Perimeter, Technosylva and Ignis, for helping to put out fires.
Because of climate change, we are likely to have many more forest fires like the ones that occurred on the West Coast this summer, driving hundreds of thousands of people out of their homes. But in the coming years, we may be better equipped to deal with them thanks to tools like those made by Perimeter, Technosylva and Ignis, three start-ups that are trying to modernize the outdated firefighter’s arsenal.
Perimeter, a small start-up in the bay area, makes collaborative mapping and data sharing software for emergency workers. Its founder, Bailey Farren, is the 24-year-old daughter of a retired fire captain and paramedic. After she and her family were forced to evacuate during the 2017 Tubbs fire, she saw the need for a better communication system than the two-way radios and paper maps emergency workers often use. The Perimeter app, which allows firefighters to share real-time evacuation routes and safety updates, is being tested in California cities, including Palo Alto and Petaluma, and the company plans to expand to other states soon.
Technosylva, another California start-up, makes predictive modeling software that allows firefighters to calculate where a fire is heading, how fast it is moving and what weather patterns might affect its path. Its software is used in nine states and has helped the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to predict the trajectory of forest fires this year, saving valuable time for anyone trying to extinguish fires.
Ignis, created by a Nebraska company, Drone Amplified, is used for “prescribed fires” – small fires purposefully set in the path of a larger fire to steal your fuel. The system connects to a drone and launches small arsonists known as “dragon eggs” from a safe height, at a much lower cost and personal risk than a helicopter. Ignis was used to fight fires in Colorado, California and Oregon this year and recently entered into a partnership with the US Forest Service.
To Our Data Bodies and Data for Black Lives, for feeding the racial calculation of technology.
When George Floyd was killed in May, many technology companies in Silicon Valley rushed to express their support for racial justice. But many of these companies have continued to make products that put black communities at risk – whether through expanding disinformation, using biased artificial intelligence or perpetuating racism in their workforces.
This year, I was most impressed by the community efforts I saw to support Black Lives Matter and other anti-racist movements that use the tools of technology to hold institutions accountable. One such effort, Our Data Bodies, is an educational project run by researchers and organizers in Los Angeles; Detroit; Charlotte, NC; and other cities. It worked to teach black communities how their personal data is collected and used by technology companies and government agencies. This year, she organized virtual training for community organizers to teach them how to fight potentially harmful technologies, such as facial recognition.