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Project Showcase — Watchtowers · Upgrowth

Watchtowers

Wildfire Watchtower Command Platform

Real-time situational awareness and management for wildfire and emergency response — in partnership with the ACT Rural Fire Service and Australian Government agencies.

The Watchtowers Command platform

Overview

Role
Solo Design Engineer
Year
2023
Duration
4 months
Team
1 Designer · 1 Backend · 1 Research
Scope
Research · Design · Build
Client
ACT Rural Fire Service

DRI — product design, the frontend build, and research synthesis.

Reporting directly to the client.

In partnership with

Partner agencies: ACT Rural Fire Service, NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service, ACT Fire & Rescue, NSW Rural Fire Service, ACT Emergency Services Agency, ACT State Emergency Service, NSW State Emergency Service

Opportunity

Dual Guard & Sentry cameras

Long-range visual optics and full redundancy. Always-on Guard cameras with AI provide long-range early fire detection, while Sentry cameras automatically focus on incidents for verification.

A Watchtowers Guard camera tower on a ridge in the Australian highlandsA Watchtowers Guard camera tower on a ridge in the Australian highlands

A Guard tower in the field

Problem

Define a new platform for improving wildfire detection and response times.

Bushfires are prevalent in Australia, and response time significantly impacts the risk of death and damage to fauna, flora and property.

We were tasked with the product strategy, design and digital infrastructure of the Watchtowers Command Platform, with the ACT RFS.

Research

Engaging frontline fire agency experts through interviews

We spent time with people in the fire agency at different lines of defence — identifying the essential requirements, and what really matters fighting the toughest fires. Discovery informed a product roadmap balancing business, user and technical needs while mitigating risk. The key takeaway: initial location of the fire is paramount.

Research & design tools

MiroNotionFigma

Design direction → essential journeys → high fidelity

Design-direction board — references and explorationDesign-direction board — references and exploration

Design direction

Essential journeys mapped across the platformEssential journeys mapped across the platform

Essential journeys

High-fidelity screens explored in FigmaHigh-fidelity screens explored in Figma

High fidelity in Figma

Design

Triangulation

Initial location is paramount — so the platform triangulates it. Bearings from two towers cross, and that intersection puts the fire on the map: not just a plume on a feed, but a place to send the response.

Tower ATower Blocated

Triangulation — two fields of view, one location

Triangulation in the Command platform — camera bearings converging on a located incident

Triangulation in the Command platform — bearings converge on the incident

Build

Realtime video, live maps

AWS handling video ingestion, transcoding and control — wired with Amplify for simpler schema generation. The app itself is Next.js with Sass, GraphQL, and interactive map surface via Google Maps.

AWSAWS AmplifyNext.jsSassGraphQLGoogle Maps

Outcome

In service with the fire agency

The platform is in real use. Staff find and triangulate incidents, and it gives the public awareness of when an incident started, how it has changed, and where it’s heading.

Command map with the camera grid and an incident timelineWatchtowers Command — incident detail
Triangulation — camera bearings converging on an incident
Watchtowers Command — camera feedWatchtowers Command — map layers

See it in production

watchtowers.io
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Watchtowers · Wildfire Watchtower Command Platform · 2023