Innovation

AEM was formed in 2018 and is made up of several different business units, each addressing an environmental niche such as Forests, Rainfall, or Marine monitoring. One of the AEM business units, Forest Technology Systems (FTS), leverages networks of environmental sensors to address wildfires. Wildfires have escalated dramatically in recent years and the number of them are likely to increase by a third by 2050, according to the UN. FTS’ network of environmental sensing devices contributes to decision making across the entire lifecycle of a wildfire, from prevention and preparedness (for example, by providing the weather science behind a Fire Danger Rating System), detection and response (through use of cameras, weather stations, and other instruments), to rehabilitation and recovery.

FTS has developed a cloud-based software called FTS360 to support its network of environmental sensors. FTS360 connects its networks using an innovation called Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) communication. Unlike traditional IP or FTP based networks, MQTT presents itself like social media. Data from millions of inputs are presented as topics that any user (person/device/database) can follow or subscribe to. The user can also post or publish their input to the topic and the MQTT broker administers all the messaging handling and delivery. The key differentiator is that users operating on an MQTT network are not required to know any technical details about other users to interact on a topic, meaning any brand can connect. MQTT has minimal bandwidth requirements, making it ideal for remote environmental sensors where there may be limited network access. Originally developed by IBM, MQTT is one of the few ratified communication standards for IoT.

Inspiration

The idea to use MQTT was sparked when the Chief Technology Officer at FTS recognized that Internet of Things trade shows were buzzing with ecosystems of smart/connected devices, and many of these were using MQTT to create their networks. FTS was at a turning point with their product line – the company had been thriving off its datalogger but saw opportunity in investing in a software platform that could provide a test vehicle for MQTT, which could vastly improve the capabilities of their networks of environmental sensors. These benefits would be felt widely by customers who were looking to rationalize larger and larger datasets to get the best possible situational awareness/common operating picture of their environment. Certain technological advancements in wireless technology, cloud computing, and telecommunications had opened a door in network connectivity capabilities, and FTS seized this opportunity to create a better product for its customers.

Using MQTT, FTS can connect any number of cameras, weather stations, databases, mobile devices, social media, and other third-party products and services to each other on the network with speed, ease, and scalability. Configuration and maintenance of these devices was exponentially easier than it had been before using MQTT. Older systems had require manually updating configuration such as an IP address if a sensor or camera had to be changed “and you had to notify every user of the update, which could be hundreds or more” explained Alan, Director of Product, in our interview. On a network of thousands of devices, this had been an extremely cumbersome task. MQTT networks have provided a simple, elegant solution to the difficult problem of connecting unlimited ‘things’ together.

Overall impact

FTS has deployed their wildfire solutions nationally throughout the United States, Canada, and Australia. Their weather station and sensor technology are in use by all 50 of the top Forestry Management Agencies in North America, electric utilities, and others to mitigate the harmful effects of wildfire throughout the entire event cycle of a wildfire, and other types of extreme weather events. FTS360 has provided a data analytics platform for these organizations to securely collect, view, analyze, and interpret sensor data, camera images and video, and use the derived insights to protect critical infrastructure and communities from the worst impact of extreme weather events.

Data driven decisions in wildfire mitigation are enormously impactful; a study of Canada’s Fire Danger Rating System found that the system had saved $750 million in firefighting expenditures over eleven years (Institute of Chartered Foresters; Agriculture Canada).

Internet of Things networks using MQTT technology are very easy to scale due to MQTT’s open source/standardized nature and low bandwidth requirements. This scalability offers enormous potential impact across different industries and use cases. The more data in the model the more precise the model, and with technologies like AI and Machine Learning, MQTT-leveraged networks will be able to offer extremely advanced and precise data models that require less oversight and can self-select to only the critical alerts that require a human being to action on. This type of precision and versatility within the data models will have numerous benefits to environmental agencies or industries operating within an environmental context.

Business benefit

FTS has led the integration of MQTT technology within the AEM family of businesses. In the future, other AEM companies addressing other niche environmental areas will be able to benefit from this technology and expertise. In the back end, MQTT is easily transferred across business lines, and transmitting environmental sensor data is fundamental for each sector that AEM supports.

Incorporating MQTT technology has led to numerous business benefits. The flexibility of MQTT technology allowed AEM to move quickly and remain ahead of competitors. They have been able to offer more economically priced hardware infrastructure and have opened the ability to articulate the value of software infrastructure. They have been able to establish recurring streams of revenue through their SaaS platform offering. MQTT has been a major source of advertising and has established AEM as an industry leader. Top talent has been attracted to and retained by the company, including software engineers from leading technology companies like Google.

Social and environmental benefit

In addition to catering to businesses and agencies, AEM has developed FTS360 Overwatch – a public-facing emergency response resource designed for public awareness around environmental risks.

AEM has embedded sustainability at the core of their business model. The business embodies progressive change for our environment and communities. The awareness provided by their environmental sensor networks is extremely valuable in empowering communities and organizations to survive and thrive in the face of escalating environment risks. Their technology helps reduce the environmental impact of these risks, creating a safer world.

Interview

Alan DiCiantis, Director of Product