A group of high school students in San Jose is gaining international attention after developing an artificial intelligence system designed to detect and suppress wildfires within minutes.
The team from Valley Christian High School, known as Wildfire Quest, has been named a finalist in the $11 million XPRIZE Wildfire competition. The global contest challenges innovators to create technology capable of detecting and stopping wildfires before they spread out of control.
The students’ solution combines artificial intelligence, drones and specialized fire-suppressant devices.
Their system uses drones equipped with AI technology to detect a fire quickly. Once a fire is identified, the drone drops fire-retardant balls directly onto the flames. The balls contain a chemical powder designed to extinguish the fire when the fuse activates on impact.
Student Joshua Guo said his inspiration came from personal experience after his family was forced to evacuate during a fast-moving wildfire near their home.
“We were collecting suitcases, memories like photo albums, everything we could salvage,” Guo said. “In that moment I was thinking, is there really nothing I can do about this?”
The Wildfire Quest team partnered with drone company Kaizen Aerospace and fire detection technology company Sensory AI to help build the system.
Olivia Ahn, another student on the team, explained that the fire-retardant balls release a suppressant powder that can quickly smother flames when deployed.
PG&E is helping support the competition and its next phase of development.
Later this summer, finalists will travel to Alaska for the final test. Teams must demonstrate technology capable of autonomously detecting and completely suppressing a wildfire within 10 minutes across an area as large as the San Francisco Bay Area.
The winner of the XPRIZE Wildfire competition will be announced in September.
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