Mechanical and aerospace engineering professor Pirouz Kavehpour teamed up with high school student Ryan Honary on developing an AI-powered early wildfire detection system designed to detect the start of a fire before smoke becomes visible.
Honary, who attends Stanford Online High School, said he felt compelled to develop the SensoRyAI system after seeing the devastation of the 2018 Camp Fire. He was already working with the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) on an AI-powered prototype when he reached out to Kavehpour, who specializes in the physics of fluid flows, for insights on how flames and heat travel.
The collaboration led to a prototype authorized for field deployment by the OCFA and a co-authored paper, published in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Open Journal of Engineering. The team is planning further field tests this year.
UCLA Samueli faculty aid L.A. wildfire recovery, address post-fire hazards