As climate change intensifies the frequency and severity of wildfires, the need for faster, smarter response systems is becoming urgent. Andrea Santy, Executive Program Director of XPRIZE Wildfire, is leading a global effort to detect and suppress fires within minutes, preventing environmental and economic devastation at scale.

In this episode of Hardware to Save a Planet, host Dylan Garrett speaks with Andrea about how satellite networks, AI, and autonomous systems are reshaping climate resilience. She explains the competition’s dual-track approach, the challenge of real-time detection across vast ecosystems, and the ambition of fully autonomous suppression within 10 minutes. The conversation explores how cross-border collaboration, scalability, and equitable deployment are essential to building solutions that can protect forests, communities, and the global climate system.

What you will learn:

• How the space-based detection track works
• Why the 10-minute autonomous response challenge represents the innovation frontier
• The critical role of AI and machine learning in wildfire detection
• How cross-sector collaboration inside the competition drives unexpected innovation
• Why global accessibility and business viability are judging criteria, not afterthoughts
• The critical insight from Australian research that justifies the competition's urgency

Andrea Santy is the Executive Program Director of the $11M XPRIZE Wildfire, where she leads a four-year global competition to accelerate technologies that can detect and suppress destructive wildfires. With over 20 years of experience in conservation and community development, she focuses on advancing scalable solutions to urgent climate challenges. At XPRIZE, she oversees program execution, builds strategic partnerships, and guides real-world testing, creating a collaborative platform to drive innovation in wildfire prevention, response, and long-term climate resilience.
Hardware to Save a Planet is brought to you by Synapse. We are a global product development and engineering firm that partners with visionary companies to design, develop, and realize breakthrough hardware and AI-powered innovations that advance climate technologies.

To learn more about Synapse and potential business partnerships we offer outside of the podcast, please visit: https://www.synapse.com/contact/ to get in touch!

Episode Resources:

• Andrea Santy on LinkedIn
• XPRIZE Foundation Website
• Dylan Garrett on LinkedIn
• Synapse Podcast Website
• Synapse Website
• Hardware to Save a Planet Apple Podcasts
• Hardware to Save a Planet Spotify

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Previous guests include: Peter Reinhardt of Charm Industrial, Carlos Araque of Quaise, Noah McQueen of Heirloom, Areeb Malik of Glacier, Jeff Satwicz of Bigbelly, Abe Schneider of Natel Energy, Insiya Jafferjee of Shellworks, Paul Gross of Remora, Erika Boeing of Accelerate Wind and Daniel Betts of Blue Frontier.

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