The number, frequency, and severity of wildfires have increased dramatically across the world, impacting economies, ecosystems, and communities significantly. But now, new research finds that sensor data from drones and internet-of-things devices can enable early wildfire detection with over 99% accuracy.
According to a new study published in the journal IEEE, using a combination of drones and IoT sensors for fire detection in high-risk regions can help to minimize the total losses caused by a probable wildfire.
How the wildfire detection system would work is simple enough: If a fire ignites, the IoT devices installed in the area will register it and report the temperature anomalies to a drone patrolling nearby as soon as it comes within their transmission range. Once a drone receives multiple positive reports of a fire igniting from the cluster of IoT devices, it would notify a central command center – presumably the nearest firefighting department – that a wildfire…
