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What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
Here, we take a closer look at what ‘Artificial Intelligence’ means and how it can be applied to enhance the future of fire safety.
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The term ‘Artificial Intelligence’ was coined in 1955 by the scientist John McCarthy and represents how machines can learn to think on their own.
Artificial Intelligence, or ‘AI’, uses machines and computers to mimic the decision-making and problem-solving abilities of humans, without being encoded with commands.
Since each interaction allows a system to test and measure solutions at a rapid pace, after each successful round of data processing, an AI system gets smarter.
AI systems can become experts far faster than humans and automate previously manual, repetitive tasks in a lot more time-efficient way.
The technology is an important tool, enabling smart systems to quickly and accurately analyse large datasets to find patterns – a task that could take humans a long time – if at all – to spot.
It is often used to make a product or service ‘smarter’ and therefore more efficient, improving an experience for end-users whilst offering a high ROI.
In a survey of 350 chief technology officers and IT directors, AI and machine learning was identified by more than half of respondents as being one of the most important technologies for 2022 and beyond.
It’s being used across almost all industries – from fitness and fire safety to retail and healthcare – to provide personalised, efficient and effective outcomes.
In 2020, UK businesses spent around £63 billion on AI technology. It’s a figure that’s predicted to grow to more than £200 billion by 2040, with 1.3 million businesses in the UK expected to be using AI.
Since 2007, FireAngel have been providing a free of charge forensic investigation service for the UK Fire & Rescue Service for any FireAngel alarm that has been involved in a fire.
This service inadvertently became our first foray into data.
When we received these alarms back and downloaded the data stored on the device, we found there were a lot of ‘near misses’ registered on these alarms. This highlighted trends in activations before larger or fatal fires occurred, reinforcing the message that many fires could have, and will in the future, be prevented through successful intervention.
At FireAngel, we took this data-driven correlation between behaviour and risk and created a cloud-based solution which monitors all events in real time and uses Artificial Intelligence to pinpoint properties at elevated risk.
The unique algorithm and patented application of FireAngel’s AI-driven Predict® technology, gives visibility of previously hidden trends within properties, such as devices being removed, highlighting potentially dangerous behaviour and enabling intervention.
Tried, tested and trusted after 10 years of development, FireAngel Predict® creates an automatic stratification of risk in line with the Fire Safety Act 2021. This enables active intervention from housing providers to mitigate risk with a personalised Safe and Well check by the Resident Safety Team or Fire and Rescue Services to help prevent a life-threatening event.
Why not find out more about our unique AI-driven Predict® technology or IoT powered FireAngel Connected platform?
