exci detects bushfires and alerts authorities
automatically within minutes after ignition
The
exci
story
Motivated by a deep sense of responsibility towards addressing pressing global challenges, Christopher and Gabrielle Tylor are driven by their genuine passion. Inspired by the resilience of survivors from the Australian bushfires, they are committed to making a difference. Witnessing the widespread devastation caused by climate-induced fire disasters, they decided to take action.
This led to the development and launching of an innovative early bushfire detection and notification system. Powered by advanced machine learning algorithms, their solution aims to revolutionise wildfire prevention efforts, providing a scalable and effective approach to safeguarding communities and ecosystems.
With its ability to swiftly detect and alert authorities to potential wildfire threats, the system offers a practical solution to mitigate the impact of such disasters, ultimately saving lives and protecting valuable resources.
From Vision to Reality: exci's Journey
In May 2019, our company hired a top-tier team comprising software engineers, data scientists, and machine learning experts.
Within a mere seven months, we accomplished the development of an advanced wildfire detection system, which proved its effectiveness during the challenging 2020/21 Californian fire season. Throughout this timeframe, our system, known as exci, meticulously processed over a billion images collected from over 1,000 ground-based cameras, alongside analyzing 500,000 satellite images to detect signs of smoke and heat.
Covering an extensive territory of 130 million acres across North America, stretching from Mexico to Canada, our system remained vigilant, ensuring timely monitoring and response to potential fire outbreaks.
At the end of 2020, exci secured the prestigious Accelerating Commercialisation Grant of $ 500,000, a testament to the competitiveness of our wildfire detection system’s commercialization efforts in Australia.
In January 2021, we hosted a live streamed a demonstration of our groundbreaking system for key stakeholders worldwide. Since then, exci has maintained its pioneering role in early wildfire detection.
Encompassing a vast network spanning over 25 million acres, from Victoria to Northern Queensland, exci’s system serves as a vigilant guardian, shielding extensive Australian landscapes from the peril of catastrophic wildfires.
Looking back on our journey four years later, we commissioned an in-depth analysis from our development team. The findings were staggering: as of October 2023, since the system’s inception, we’ve successfully detected an impressive 131,000 fires and counting. This underscores the profound impact of our technology in safeguarding our clients’ assets, communities, and ecosystems.
A notable achievement distinguishing us is our team’s unwavering commitment to excellence, resulting in significant enhancements to our system’s efficiency and accuracy. With the average detection time now optimized to just one minute, we’ve not only revolutionised wildfire detection but also set a new standard for swift response and mitigation, solidifying our position as industry leaders.
exci - Smoke Alarm for the Bush
In the heart of our company’s evolution lies a tale of transformation sparked by innovation, passion, and a commitment to making a difference. It began during one of our spirited ‘Fun-Friday’ gatherings, where creativity flowed as freely as the wine and cheese.
Amidst laughter and camaraderie, we discussed the critical need for early detection systems to combat bushfires in Australia, inspired by the law mandating smoke alarms for all buildings. We realized our technology could be a beacon of hope, much like smoke alarms protect homes.
This led to the vision of our Early Bushfire Detection System as a vigilant sentinel watching over the bush, acting as its smoke alarm. As we brainstormed a new identity, we discovered ‘exci,’ derived from the Latin word for ‘alarm.’ This name captured our mission to alert and empower swift action in the face of danger.
‘exci’ symbolises our commitment to safeguarding communities, ecosystems, and livelihoods, embodying the spirit of innovation and resilience that defines us. Embracing this name marked a new chapter in our story, filled with purpose and the pursuit of a safer tomorrow.
With ‘exci’ as our guiding light, we embarked on a path driven by innovation and a collective desire to protect and preserve what matters most.
Founders Story
Starting a business is a scary, exciting, and challenging process. It involves a whole lot of risk of investing time, money, energy and passion into a venture that may or may not succeed.
Fear was our ultimate challenge. Work-life balance did not exist for us anymore. What helped us keep going? Accepting fear as a silent companion that you can beat every day, seeing failures as part of success and the strong belief that we can succeed motivated us to keep moving forward. We remained focused on the possibilities of the future and not so much on the challenges of the present.
Having a positive impact is the core of our business. We are passionate about helping mitigate the severity of wildfires: loss of lives, homes, our environment, our dreams and our memories. This is what drives us forward. We hope that ultimately, we achieve financial freedom, enabling us to invest in causes that address the world’s most challenging problems to shape a better future for all.
As our Company evolved so did our Values
Our values are the foundation for making business decisions and forming relationships with our valued clients, partners, employees, and suppliers.
Empathy motivated us to push our innovative early wildfire detection technology forward. It started with a deep understanding of what is truly important in people’s lives. Leveraging our empathy makes us ask more questions, listen more intently, and understand more deeply.
With time, growth, and experience, our values have changed. We learned throughout our journey that not all people put their words into action. Therefore, we believe that it is not the talk but the walk that matters.
We all make mistakes now and then. That is okay. What matters is that we, at exci, are big enough to own the mistake, devise a solution, and learn from it. This is what we understand under demonstrating integrity and accountability. Transparency serves us to achieve those values, leading to good relationships built on trust. We go even further and do the right thing even when no one is watching. Successful collaboration means for us sharing the right information at the right time with the right people.
While some people are drawn to mudslinging, we resist temptations to “fight fire with fire.” Instead, we treat others with respect, not because everyone is worthy of respect, but because doing less would diminish our values and character.
At exci, we dare to think big. We embrace a forward-thinking mindset that has the courage to think out of the box and pushes the boundaries of innovation.
Empathy – Empathy has the power to push innovative technologies forward
Innovation – We embrace a forward-thinking mindset that pushes the boundaries of innovation.
Integrity – We do the right thing — even when no one is watching.
Trust – We build relationships that are in the interests of all involved.
Respect – We treat everyone with respect because doing less would diminish our values and character.
Collaboration – We share the right things at the right time with the right people.
We Walk the Talk because Actions speak louder than Words!
Key Personnel
Christopher
Managing Director/CEO
Gabrielle
Executive Director/COO
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Jean-Luc
CTO/Tech Lead
Julian
Chief Commercial Officer
Seraphina
Operations Manager
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