FindingaMissionbyHelpingthe WorldandNature

The talk that was held on the 20th of April 2023 brought a guest that specialized in robotics, Mr.Rex Sham. He co-founded the company named insight robotics, which produces robots that help detect potential wildfires. Mr. Rex studied computer science at CUHK, received a degree there, and studied Artificial Intelligence. AI is also used within the robots from insight robotics to be able to detect fire in large areas such as a forest. The company collaborated with the Chinese government in charge of environmental issues (agricultural departments, etc.) to be able to receive a database for detecting the fire due to the scarce source for that type of information within the internet.

He found out that fire always started with a spark, thus determining the early stage of a forest fire. The research began in 2009 to detect the said spark using sensors, thermal and standard cameras to collect data using unsupervised learning techniques implemented toward the AI. The company also collaborated with the local firefighters to identify the vegetation and its characteristics related to the foliage's burning ability. After Mr. Rex and his team collected all the information, a prototype was built to test out the effectiveness of the system.

Then he discovered that pests and diseases contribute to massive plantation failure, and the residue becomes a potential cause for wildfire due to drying up and decreasing carbon absorption. After that, he developed solutions to solve the problem of pests, diseases, and wildfires to help the local farmer by incorporating low-maintenance sensors to minimize the machine's maintenance cost. His effort resulted in the production of robots with artificial intelligence sold in several countries to help with plantation issues.

The company is still developing the robot with its third-generation robots with more information and experiences. The latest feature currently being designed is the ability to recognize smoke from different areas using vision to determine types of smoke that would be beneficial to detect incoming wildfires. This night's talk was focused on active discussions from the audience toward Mr. Rex, answering a range of questions regarding the hardships of developing the product and being in the market. He also mentioned the most important aspects of a startup: personal interest, resources (i.e., cash, knowledge, investors), and a partner to work with.