The FireLoc system - methodologies for geolocating the observed fires

Abstract

The FireLoc system aims at geolocating forest fires observed by the citizens using data uploaded by the citizens using a dedicated app developed for mobile devices. The collected data includes the location of the observer (determined with the Global Navigation Satellite System receiver embedded in the device), the magnetic bearing registered by the mobile device when facing the fire. However, due to the errors that may be associated with the measurement of the magnetic bearing an additional measurement is collected with the app, which is the magnetic bearing measured when the volunteer is facing his/her shadow. Even though the collection of this data is not mandatory at the current version of the app to upload a contribution, it may be very useful to estimate the error associated with the measurement of the magnetic bearing. This short paper describes the process to determine the location of the observed fire with the collected data, without considering the error associated with the measurement of the orientation and when this error is considered along with a fuzzy approach to assess the region where the fire is more likely to be located.