NASA’s new artificial intelligence — capable of running on a cellphone — could soon put Apple’s Siri and Microsoft’s Cortana to shame.
The hope for the AI, named AUDREY, is to be deployed in the field to help save first responders’ lives by making split-second recommendations in dangerous situations, NASA officials said.
AUDREY works by pulling in data from the environment and from the equipment being carried by first responders.
In this way, the AI can detect temperature changes, gases and other threats. The cloud-based overseer will then on its own send custom warnings to individuals in the field.
In a fire, it might detect a propane tank through a camera carried by the firefighter, or warn of elevated temperatures in a nearby room.
“The information all becomes shareable and then the decision will be made by these kind of guardian angels for each of the firefighters,” said Edward Chow, manager of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Civil Program Office and AUDREY program manager.
AUDREY’s connectivity bridges the gaps in different communication networks, allowing the AI to spread information to different agencies at the same time.
In one example provided by NASA, AUDREY predicted a possible explosion in a building. The AI automatically warns a police officer inside to evacuate, while also telling incoming firefighters or hazardous-material teams to address the threat quickly.