00:00Franco Rodriguez-Fiao started saving lives as a teenager.
00:04I started in 2020 because I personally had family friends who lost their homes to wildfires,
00:10and I really wanted to do something about it.
00:12At just 16, he co-founded Satellites on Fire, an AI-powered early warning system
00:18that helped fight over 600 wildfires in 2025. It is now active across 21 countries worldwide.
00:25According to his data, his alert system detects fire on average 35 minutes faster than NASA.
00:32We combine satellites, cameras, drones, sensors, and AI to detect fires,
00:37and we have an AI algorithm that is enabling us to detect much faster by combining different kinds
00:43of information with reports from customers in territory.
00:47Satellites on Fire also warns people endangered by wildfires via messages to their smartphones
00:53and alerts first responders. Franco Rodriguez-Fiao does not only want to save people.
00:58He wants to protect biodiversity by stopping fires destroying nature.
01:03He is also developing his system even further.
01:05We want to be an integral solution for this problem globally.
01:09So this means being in prevention, detection, monitoring, and suppression of the fires.
01:12Franco Rodriguez-Fiao is now 22 years old.
01:15His app has won awards and gained funding from the UN and other institutions.
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