As wildfires rage with increasing intensity, GoAERO is pioneering the next generation of emergency response aircraft. We’re calling on visionary engineers, students, and entrepreneurs, to create autonomous aircraft capable of rescuing those caught behind fire lines, bringing in fire retardant, and conducting rapid response missions during and after wildfires.
These autonomy-enabled flyers will work in collaboration with wildfire fighting agencies, many of which, like Cal Fire, have already integrated a vast network of monitoring cameras and sensors. By combining existing infrastructure and data with GoAERO teams’ aircraft, our competition-designed vehicles will be able to conduct critical missions–rescuing stranded individuals and delivering life saving aid to those impacted by wildfires.
Five of California’s six most destructive wildfires occurred in 2020, with experts predicting worsening conditions in the coming decades. Between 2019 and 2021, wildfires caused over $25 billion in damage, according to Cal Matters. Per the New York Times, southern California recently saw 100,000 acres burn, straining firefighting resources and destroying dozens of homes—requiring AI-informed responses to stop them before they do more damage.
“We need visionary design to respond to tomorrow’s crises. GoAERO, which awards $2+ million in total prizes, will revolutionize how the world navigates post-disaster life,” said Gwen Lighter, founder and CEO of GoAERO.
She continued, “Innovation in emergency response is crucial to face our global natural disasters and frequent crises like wildfires.”
By fostering the development of autonomy-enabled flyers, GoAERO is not just prepared for the future—we’re actively shaping it to be safer and more resilient in the face of intensifying natural disasters.
