Austria to predict wildfires by tracking runners [Video]

The Austrian government will soon implement artificial intelligence (AI) to predict where wildfires are going to happen by using tracking data from runners and cyclists.

The more people in the woods, the bigger the wildfire risk, says Kevin Mallinger from SBA Research which developed the new wildfire prediction tool for the Ministry of Agriculture.

“Many people nowadays are using tracking apps when they are running or cycling and we gathered this data that we found on the web and basically trained the AI on it,” Mallinger explained to CGTN. “It’s calculating the fire risk based on the movement.”

People enjoying the outdoors pose a risk to public safety. Around 95 percent of Europe’s wildfires are ignited by humans. Typical scenarios are camping, cigarette smoking or defective infrastructure such as broken power lines.

In Europe, last year saw one of the most severe wildfire seasons this century, with more than half …