Orange County 8th grader Ryan Honary is developing an AI-driven system for early wildfire detection

The inventor behind this groundbreaking technology is Ryan Honaryan eighth grader at Pegasus School in Huntington Beach.

“I’ve been working on it for a very long time, as far as I can tell,” said the 14-year-old student.

Honary began working on this system in fifth grade. Since then, his research into using artificial intelligence to detect wildfires in their earliest stages has won multiple awards and grants.

Its sensors use a wireless mesh network to relay heat or smoke information to what he calls a “mini-meteorological station.”

“With all the data it’s constantly getting from all the detectors, it’s going to predict where it thinks the fire will grow,” Honary said.

The sensors are battery-powered and operate in high-risk, remote areas with little to no environmental impact, and cost about $10 each.

Honary believes the sensors could later be adapted to detect soil moisture, water levels or underwater oil leaks.

“My network can be used for environmental disasters that start in a small area and then spread to become larger,” he said.