The Wildfire Suppression System Built to Fight Fire From the Ground | Gadi Benjamini

Hardware to Save a Planet · 1 Oct 2026 · 47m · Episode 104

What this episode covers

Gadi Benjamini, Co-founder and CEO of FireDome, explains how his company builds autonomous wildfire suppression hardware inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome. He details the electromechanical launcher that fires 10-gallon 'smart capsules' filled with water or fire retardant up to 1,000 feet, and the AI-driven computer vision algorithms used to detect spot fires while avoiding humans and drones. Benjamini discusses the company's pivot from his previous methane mitigation startup, Carbon Twist, to resilience tech, and outlines their 'resilience as a service' business model targeting early adopters like wineries and HOAs in California. He also shares challenges in sourcing durable motors and manufacturing tolerances, and describes upcoming testing in Sacramento to validate performance against high winds.

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