Today’s Solutions: December 11, 2023

For firefighters, one of the scariest aspects of entering a burning building is that it can be nearly impossible to see anything due to the heavy smoke. That’s why firefighters often crawl along the ground where the smoke isn’t as thick—although this hinders the ability to put out a fire or rescue victims.

To help firefighters navigate through smoke, entrepreneur Sam Cossman and his colleagues at Qwake developed a heads up display that projects data from a thermal camera right in front of a firefighter’s face. Dubbed the C-THRU, the heads up display features a transparent piece of glass that sits inside a firefighter’s mask, right in front of one eye.

Outside the mask is a thermal camera that delivers a live feed to the device’s brain, which is a special form of artificial intelligence that detects the edges of shapes in the camera’s view and outlines them in neon green. This allows the firefighters to see the green silhouettes of the objects in front of them, despite the heavy smoke.

Cossman came up with the idea for C-THRU while exploring active volcanic craters, an activity in which he found himself essentially walking blindly through the smoke and steam.

Thus far, several fire departments have tested C-THRU in real-world scenarios. The response has been extremely positive, with the Boston Fire Department chief saying C-THRU “could literally change the game for us.”

Although a release date has yet to be announced for the augmented reality device, we can expect to receive more details on it by “early 2021.”

Solutions News Source Print this article
More of Today's Solutions

Growing the green workforce: US commits $41M to clean energy training centers

The United States is preparing for an energy transformation, and it's no secret that a trained workforce is critical to making the transition to ...

Read More

Greenery, berries, and creative accents: elevate your holiday décor with nati...

During the holidays, the timeless charm of beautifying our spaces with fresh greenery, vivid fruits, and berries resonates strongly, reflecting customs established in millennia ...

Read More

How to extend the lifespan of your avocados by a month

When you know your avocados are in their peak ripe stage but you're not ready to use them yet, there’s no reason to let ...

Read More

Avatar’s motion AI tech helps researchers detect rare diseases

Researchers are using motion capture artificial intelligence technology that brings characters to life in films like Avatar to track the onset of diseases that ...

Read More