It has, to date, been a calm hurricane season in the state of Florida, but any resident of the Southeast will tell you that the deeper into summer we go, the more dangerous it becomes.
There’s no stopping Mother Nature’s wrath, but a Florida-based tech company has come up with a way to help state officials begin recovery efforts after a storm blows through. The technology could eventually be used for other natural disasters, such as the recent flash floods in Texas’ Hill Country and the devastating fires in California.
Last fall, Urban SDK, a Jacksonville, Florida-based software company that aggregates traffic data to help public works departments spot problems more easily, launched HALO—a new service that quickly highlights the most pressing problem areas after a storm passes.
As soon as winds drop below 40 mph and the sun is out, the company tasks satellites and deploys helicopters, drones, and fixed-wing aircraft to gather aerial imagery of the storm’s impact. Those images are processed through its computer vision model, helping state and local officials identify areas where roads are blocked by fallen trees, flooding, or severe damage.
