Pano AI Wildfire Cameras Will Now Alert Drone Companies to Smoke
US company Pano AI has opened its wildfire detection platform to drone providers so cameras can send fire coordinates straight to a drone operator. Launch partners are Seneca, Rain, BRINC and Censys Technologies.
Pano AI, a San Francisco-based wildfire detection company, announced a Drone Partner Program on November 4. It lets its camera system automatically alert drone providers to confirmed smoke, rather than waiting for a dispatcher to relay the information. The announcement came at Red Sky Summit, a wildfire technology conference held in San Francisco.
Pano's cameras already send alerts to fire agencies and utilities in 18 US states, and the company says they cover more than 95 million acres. Once a customer agrees, the system notifies the drone company automatically and passes on the triangulated coordinates of the fire.
Partners
The press release names four launch partners: Seneca, Rain, BRINC and Censys Technologies. A launch graphic on the company's LinkedIn page also shows Skydio's logo, and the post text tags Skydio as a partner, but the press release does not mention it.
Seneca's autonomous aircraft, rated at more than 100 pounds (45 kg) of suppressant each, can now receive a camera alert for the Aspen Fire Protection District in Colorado. Rain offers an autonomy kit that retrofits existing aircraft for fire suppression. BRINC's drones are used by more than 1,000 public safety agencies and would fly to Pano's coordinates and stream video to incident command. Censys Technologies builds inspection drones for utilities that fly beyond visual line of sight.
Limits
The integration runs through Pano's Incident API, which the company already uses with utility customers. Pano says its cameras alerted on 735 vegetation fires in 2025 and were the first known alert about 60 percent of the time. Both figures come from the company itself.
The release ends by saying program capabilities and availability depend on commercial partnerships. An agency that buys Pano cameras still buys drones separately. The article's author also notes that Aspen's drone flights over federal land previously required coordination with agencies including the FAA, which the release does not mention.
