This summer, RoboticsCats was honoured to collaborate with four University of California students through the CITRIS Workforce Innovation Program. Together, we prototyped new solutions at the intersection of wildfire detection, AI, and large language models (LLMs), helping explore smarter and more resilient tools for the future.
Our journey brought together universities, technologies, organisations, geographies, and people to create something new.
Crossing Campuses: UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis, UC Merced
The CITRIS and the Banatao Institute Workforce Innovation Program connects UC undergraduates with eight-week, project-based learning opportunities focused on emerging IT innovation.
This year, our team welcomed:
- Samantha Siew, UC Santa Cruz
- Jacob Lawson, UC Merced
- Celia Wang, UC Berkeley
- Sarayu Mummidi, UC Davis
Each student brought fresh perspectives in computer science and data science, forming a vibrant cross-campus team.
Crossing Technologies: Wildfire Detection × LLM × Chatbots
Wildfires are becoming more catastrophic worldwide. At the same time, LLMs and generative AI are transforming the way technology is used and communicated.
We invited the student participants to explore how these forces could converge to create useful new tools. Their project brief was to design prototypes that could extend our LookOut Wildfire Detection SaaS and investigate new ways to communicate with customers through AI chatbots and APIs.
Four Projects, Four Leaders
Each student led a project and presented their work at the end of the programme:
- PowerShell automation — Scanning folders for new images and sending them to LookOut Wildfire Detection SaaS for wildfire analysis
- AI-powered receipt OCR — Recognising individual items on receipts and logging them to Google Sheets
- LLM-powered trivia quiz game — A quiz designed to engage seniors aged 65+ and support digital adoption
- LookOut Desktop — A Python application that uses FTP files and YouTube Live feeds as image sources for LookOut, while sending WhatsApp wildfire alerts to users
From productivity tools to wildfire-response applications, the projects demonstrated the creativity and practical value of student-led R&D.
Crossing Partnerships: CITRIS x RoboticsCats x APlus Digital Academy
Mentorship was central to the experience. With support from APlus Digital Academy, the student participants developed hands-on skills in LLMs and APIs. Pen Kwok of APlus introduced tools including Postman, Google APIs, and Twilio, supporting rapid prototyping and real-world solution development.
Collaboration across organisations strengthened learning and accelerated progress.
Crossing Borders: California x Hong Kong x Alberta
Our wider collaboration also included two outstanding high-school students outside the UC system:
- Grace Yeung, from Diocesan Girls’ School in Hong Kong, completed a three-day job-shadowing experience, preparing research reports on wildlife monitoring, elderly fall detection, and urban heat resilience.
- Jerry Wu, from Sir Winston Churchill High School in Calgary, Alberta, collaborated with RoboticsCats over six weeks on applied technology projects. His work included software that connects YouTube Live with LookOut Wildfire Detection SaaS, an acoustic bird-detection device, and a solar-powered weather station.
Together with the UC student participants, they broadened the discussion and inspired meaningful cross-cultural exchange.
Crossing Journeys: Learning and Leading Together
Over three months, these students stepped outside their comfort zones, practised teamwork and leadership, and delivered impressive results. Their creativity was a reminder of why collaboration across backgrounds and disciplines is so valuable.
We also grew through the process—mentoring, experimenting, and exploring how emerging AI and software technologies can contribute to disaster resilience.
Looking Ahead
The 2025 CITRIS student projects are more than classroom exercises. They are early demonstrations of tools that may help detect wildfires faster, strengthen community safety, and support more inclusive technology adoption.
At RoboticsCats, we believe innovation thrives at the intersections of people, ideas, and geographies. By supporting young talent and collaborating globally, we reaffirm our mission: to build smarter AI solutions that protect lives, communities, and nature.
This summer’s crossovers are only the beginning of new journeys ahead.
