We’re proud to share that HQPlantations, Queensland’s largest plantation timber company, has now been using excis’s AI-assisted wildfire detection system for four years. The partnership began in mid-2022, following a successful one-year trial, even during one of the quietest fire seasons in two decades.
exci’s Australian-made, AI-powered bushfire detection technology has demonstrated its value by accurately detecting fire outbreaks, even during periods of low activity. As HQPlantations’ corporate fire manager, Andrew Dunn, told iTnews, the trial confirmed exci’s strong potential in early bushfire detection for plantation and forestry assets.
exci’s team installs a camera at HQPlantations
With nearly 100 cameras operating around the clock, our system captures and processes a continuous stream of visual data in real time. This constant flow not only enables rapid smoke detection but also helps improve the AI’s accuracy over time. To further enhance its performance, the system integrates satellite imagery and leverages Amazon Web Services (AWS) for scalable, high-speed data processing.
While satellite imagery provides valuable environmental context, it cannot reliably detect fires on its own. Low Earth orbit satellites don’t offer continuous coverage of the same location, and geostationary satellites lack the resolution needed to detect early signs of fire. That’s why exci combines satellite data with ground-based, high-resolution camera feeds—delivering accurate, real-time smoke detection even in remote or fire-prone areas.
Today, exci’s wildfire detection cameras—mounted on 360-degree rotating units across fire towers—cover 90% of HQPlantations’ 320,000 hectares of plantation land across Queensland. Our AI provides critical after-hours protection, detecting fires that often start overnight, including those ignited by stolen or abandoned vehicles.
exci’s real-time bushfire alerts, sent within two minutes using AWS messaging services, directly support HQPlantations’ emergency response team of over 250 trained fire personnel and a fleet of 80 fire-fighting vehicles. In addition to early detection, our system provides time-stamped images and ignition insights, assisting fire investigators in understanding fire behaviour and origin.
While manned fire towers and observers remain essential during high smoke conditions, exci’s system ensures continuous monitoring and AI-based fire surveillance, particularly when human coverage is limited. HQPlantations is currently assessing the expansion of exci’s coverage to the remaining 10% of its estate, focusing on remote areas in Central and Northern Queensland.
As our CEO and co-founder Christopher Tylor shared at AWS re:Invent 2023, our core clients include forestry companies, state fire services, and infrastructure sectors like agriculture and powerlines. However, timber providers face the highest stakes—forests take decades to grow and can be lost in a matter of days. With insurance premiums soaring and in some cases unavailable, AI-powered wildfire detection systems like exci offer a critical form of self-insurance.
Read the full article on iTnews by Jeremy Nadel
Published on 5 February 2024
We also are mentioned in timber & Forestry enews.
