A team of researchers at NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering has built an AI-powered fire detection system that can identify flames and smoke in real-time, using nothing more than the standard CCTV cameras already installed in many buildings.
A image of fire flame on a black background.

Study: Artificial Intelligence-Integrated Autonomous IoT Alert System for Real-Time Remote Fire and Smoke Detection in Live Video Streams. Image Credit: Volodymyr TVERDOKHLIB/Shutterstock.com
The system works by analyzing live video feeds with a powerful combination of deep learning models, including Scaled-YOLOv4 and EfficientDet. It’s fast (capable of spotting fire in as little as 0.016 seconds per frame) and accurate, thanks to a smart design that uses multiple models working together to reduce false alarms. Best of all, it doesn’t require expensive thermal cameras or special sensors. If a building has security cameras and internet access, it could use this system.
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