GoKawiil
Tech News
Researchers tested Maui residents six to eighteen months after the 2023 wildfires and detected notably high concentrations of toxic metals in their bodies. The findings indicate that health risks from the fires did not end when the flames were extinguished, but continued well into the following year.
The XPRIZE Wildfire competition concluded without awarding either of its two $11 million grand prizes, though finalists were recognized for progress in space-based fire detection and autonomous firefighting drones. One track required teams to detect all fires across a wide area of Australia within 10 minutes, while another challenged autonomous systems to locate and extinguish a target fire in rural Alaska within the same timeframe, avoiding decoy fires. Program director Andrea Santy said the competition drew hundreds of teams proposing solutions ranging from sound-based suppression to robotic dogs and lasers before judges narrowed the field to more practical detection and response systems.
WIRED's latest buying guide picks IQAir's AirVisual Pro, priced around $330, as the best overall air quality monitor for tracking indoor and outdoor conditions. The device measures PM2.5, AQI, temperature, humidity and other pollutants on an easy-to-read display, while the $28 Temptop S1 is recommended as a reliable budget alternative.