New Tablet System To Help Firefighters Predict Bushfire Behavior

Technology can predict even the most unpredictable: weather, storms and even astronomical events that bring wonder. However, there are a lot of other things that people should also use this type of technology for: the behavior of bushfires is among them.

A new system called "Australis" can operate on high-end tablets and can automatically provide information for communities and firefighters who are set to tackle bushfires -- a damaging act of nature that could kill and leave many people homeless, as proven by the number of victims of bushfires in Los Angeles just this past summer.

The Australis system is an Australian invention and is among UWA Professor George Milne's life's work, as he had been working on the system for the past 20 years. Milne told the Sydney Morning Herald that, "If I could just save one life, I'd be pleased with my efforts."

Milne also shared that the system can be mounted in a fire truck or in a UTE, which makes it helpful especially in cases when several bushfires are going on at once. It helps inform community members and firefighters at which directions the flames are burning and what paths they are likely to take.

Unlike Spark, a program designed for emergency management in control centers, this solution ensures that critical fire information is in the hands of the people on the sidelines. Spatial Source noted that the system analyses geospatial data in real time, taking into account geographical topography, vegetation types, fire-prone hotspots and rate of spread, among others.

Best of all, it does not need Internet access and can still accurately predict where the fire could be within 30 minutes to 24 hours in the future. Milne also pointed out that the Australis would complement the Aurora system that is used by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services. However, it will be especially helpful for dry days when several bushfires are happening around the state.

Milne shared, "The advantage to local brigades with access to this technology is that it will give them location-specific information about which communities are at risk and which need to be evacuated."

The Australis is not yet available for purchase, though. Funding is still required to get the technology up and running.