After another year being battered by hurricanes, Florida is utilizing cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) to upgrade their emergency broadcast capabilities.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) has joined the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications and artificial intelligence technology company Futuri to launch a new program, the Broadcast Emergency Alerts and Communications Operations Network, or BEACON.
Futuri says BEACON integrates AI with traditional broadcast channels — and their existing, resilient infrastructure — to transform how emergency managers and first responders communicate with communities before, during, and after disasters.
BEACON utilizes AI to capture, prioritize, deliver and translate public safety information from the Florida Division of Emergency Management. The AI then creates voice broadcast updates and advisories in multiple languages and localizes this content based on geography.
The voice updates are available for broadcast on radio and TV as well as via streaming in the free BEACON app for iOS or Android. This content is also available to newsrooms across Florida on a real-time dashboard. Floridians in Gainesville can also tune in to 89.1 FM for live broadcasts from BEACON.
“BEACON provides a 24/7/365 solution to all government agencies with this first-of-its-kind communications tool, automating important updates and advisories into radio broadcasts voiced by artificial intelligence and getting them out to the community faster than ever before,” said FDEM executive director Kevin Guthrie.
After testing the reliability of BEACON across Florida, Futuri plans to roll out the system nationwide, working with state officials to ensure that local broadcasters have access to their content during an emergency to deliver life-saving information to the communities they serve.
“Futuri understands that AI can and should be a force for good,” said Daniel Anstandig, CEO and founder of Futuri. “Futuri, along with FDEM and the University of Florida, identified a gap in the timely delivery of critically important messaging to the public, providing the opportunity to introduce new critical communication infrastructure to Florida’s – and other communities – hardest hit disaster areas. This first-of-its-kind communications tool automates important updates and advisories into radio broadcasts voiced by AI – getting potentially life-saving information to the community faster than ever before.”
Click here to listen to the BEACON audio broadcast as Hurricane Milton made landfall on Florida’s West Coast back in October.
Photo courtesy Chris Watkins Photography
The post State of Florida partners with tech company Futuri, University of Florida to launch AI-driven emergency broadcast system appeared first on Government Market News.