WatchTowers Launches Lookouts.Ai – Australia’s Own AI Smoke-Detection Model

Image: Lookouts.Ai by WatchTowers is the first AI smoke detection model designed for Australian landscapes.‍

Today we’re proud to announce the official launch of Lookouts.Ai, our new in-house developed AI smoke detection model that is now live across the WatchTowers network.

Designed, trained and tested in Australia, Lookouts.Ai brings a new level of speed and accuracy to bushfire detection. It’s built from local data and co-designed with Australian agencies, so it’s tuned to the landscapes we protect.

Lookouts.Ai is a major step forward in sovereign capability for AI bushfire detection in this country. Australian fire services now have access to an intelligence model built and maintained here at home, rather than relying on global models that are trained on overseas landscapes. 

Built on local knowledge

As any emergency responder will tell you, Australia’s environments are unique and unpredictable. No imported system can read them quite the same way. Lookouts.Ai has been trained on thousands of detections from across the WatchTowers network, learning how smoke behaves in our bushlands, grasslands and alpine regions.

Whether you’re accessing the WatchTowers network through the Command agency dashboard or CentralWatch public view, that means better accuracy and fewer false positives, as well as verified detections in seconds. 

In recent trials, Lookouts.Ai identified smoke around four minutes faster than the human eye. Those precious moments matter in the early minutes of a bushfire, when a quick response is everything.

Developed with the agencies who use it

Just like WatchTowers Command, Lookouts.Ai was designed in partnership with the agencies who are using it in the field: ACT Rural Fire Service, NSW Rural Fire Service and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. Their operational experience guided its design and testing, so we know it meets real-world needs.

Their input shaped how the system detects smoke, how alerts are verified and how detections appear inside WatchTowers Command. The result is technology that works the way responders work, combining AI precision with human insight for clear, trusted results.

Lookouts.Ai was built to support the vital work of our fire tower operators and incident controllers. The system acts as a tool that supports their expertise, by spotting potential smoke faster, reducing false alarms and giving them clearer information to make confident decisions. Its job is to keep people at the centre of bushfire detection and response.

A new Australian capability

Lookouts.Ai is live across the WatchTowers network, already supporting the agencies who keep watch each bushfire season. It’s a major milestone for the WatchTowers team, and a capability Australia can call its own. 

We’ve built it from local experience and shared purpose, and that foundation will get stronger with every season. As the WatchTowers network grows, so will the intelligence behind it, learning from every event and every person who depends on it.

If you’re an emergency service or agency ready to see how we can support your operations this bushfire season, talk to us. We’re already working with partners across Australia to extend its reach and capability.

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