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Thursday, 12 December 2013

International award-winning technology that can better predict the speed, direction and intensity of bushfires is now in operation, ready for Western Australia's southern bushfire season.

The key technology of the ‘Aurora for the Regions' simulation system was developed by Winthrop Professor George Milne of UWA's School of Computer Science and Software Engineering and colleagues at The University of Western Australia.

Professor Milne worked with Landgate and the Department of Fire and Emergency Services to create Aurora.

At the launch today Emergency Services Minister Joe Francis said the Aurora project was a $5.6 million prediction, detection, simulation and early warning system that gave firefighters vital information when battling fast moving and destructive bushfires.

"After a three-year trial, firefighters have now started using the technology alongside traditional firefighting techniques when responding to bushfires across the State," Minister Francis said.

The Aurora for the Regions system, which enables early warnings about bushfires to be sent to at-risk communities, has won a string of awards. Most recently it won the Sustainability and Environment Category of the Asia Pacific Information and Communication Technology Alliance (APICTA) Awards 2013 in Hong Kong.

The team's work was also recognised in the 22nd Western Australian Information Technology and Telecommunications Awards when they received the Regional and Society Domain Awards, and went on to claim an Australia-wide prize in Melbourne.

Aurora significantly minimises the impact of bushfire on life and property by predicting and simulating the direction, intensity and rate of bushfire spread in near real-time.

"Wildfires occur on every continent except Antarctica and can cause significant damage to human life and property," Professor Milne said.

"The ability to rapidly predict wildfire behaviour is therefore an essential component of both planned and unplanned fire management.  Our wildfire simulation research aims to balance the requirements and constraints of predictive accuracy, rapid execution and availability of data.

"With our partners, we are developing a national system which links wildfire spread prediction, fire management and alert systems.

"The goal is to simulate bushfires in real time and rapidly communicate predictions of how they will spread via the web, email and the National Telephone Early Warning System."

Media references

Winthrop Professor George Milne (UWA School of Computer Science and Software Engineering) (+61 8) 6488 2717

David Stacey (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8)  6488 3229  /  (+61 4) 32 637 716

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