NOAA funds extended reality and AI for extreme-weather preparedness
NOAA's Weather Program Office is funding "Virtual Risks and Hero Projects," led by Grace Ahn with Kyle Johnsen, to help communities prepare for hurricanes and wildfires with mixed reality and AI.
The NOAA Weather Program Office is funding Virtual Risks and Hero Projects: Activating Transformative Community Actions for Climate Resilience Against Extreme Weather Events through Extended Reality and Artificial Intelligence, a two-year project led by Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn, with Kyle Johnsen, Marshall Shepherd and Daniel Pimentel (University of Oregon).
The team is building mixed reality hurricane and wildfire experiences and an AI weather-briefing tool, Weather Intel, with partners including the National Hurricane Center, Broward County Libraries and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. The project kicked off in August 2025, and PhD student Yulong Wang is part of the team.