Bushfire Hotspot Detection Through Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles and Reconfigurable Computing

Abstract

Hotspots or smouldering embers left in the wake of a bushfire can, if not extinguished, reignite causing further destruction and loss of life as was the case on Eyre Peninsular in Australia in January 2005. The current method of detecting hotspots is very labour intensive, time consuming and inexact. To overcome these limitations, we propose a system that employs small uninhabited aerial vehicles (UAV) and reconfigurable computing (RC) technologies to enable fire fighting personnel to quickly and effectively locate hotspots. This paper explores the technologies proposed for the hotspot detection system including the algorithms for detecting and tracking of hotspots. It investigates the characterisation of these hotspots for autonomous detection, including data collection and testing techniques. It also describes the system's requirements as well as its components and architecture 12

UAV Based Spatiotemporal Analysis of the 2019–2020 New South Wales Bushfires

“…UAVs have been used in bushfires assessment, in bushfire hotspot detection [48], and economic evaluation of wildfires through UAVs [49]. Similarly, conceptual discussions have been retrieved from literature as relevant to fire monitoring with UAVs through cognitive human-machine interfaces and interactions [50], as well as remote sensing, to assess grapevine canopy damage due to fire smoke [51] and improve readiness for the next major bushfire emergency [52].…”

Integration of remotely sensed indices for land cover changes caused by the 2009 Victorian bushfires using Landsat TM imagery

“…However in bushfire cases, this task has proven to be difficult due to the factors such as lack of accessibility and large scales assessment (Graml and Wigley, 2008). For instance, traditional field survey techniques such as using total station and GPS were accurate, it seems to be high risk for field survey in fire case.…”

Self-organising swarms of firefighting drones: Harnessing the power of collective intelligence in decentralised multi-robot systems

“…Current Email address: Mauro.S.Innocente@gmail.com (Mauro S. Innocente) applications include aerial photography and filming, information gathering for human decision-makers, provision of essential supplies, support for search and rescue operations, mapping of inaccessible locations, field surveying, and crop health monitoring. With regards to firefighting operations, drone technology has been applied to forest surveillance, building fire risk maps, forest fire detection and monitoring [15], post-fire recovery monitoring [84], bushfire hotspot detection [30], and support for disaster relief operations. Compared with their use in forest fire monitoring and detection, research and development on UAV-based fire suppression is still scarce [89].…”