In order to combat wildfires we explore deploying autonomous drones with fire detection capabilities to
enhance early identification and situational awareness. Some key advantages are: (1) Overcoming terrain barriers: Drones can navigate rugged, inaccessible regions where ground sensors or cameras are ineffective; (2) Enhanced Detection Resolution: Flying at lower altitudes provides higher-fidelity imagery for machine-learning-based fire recognition; and (3) Smoke Adaptability: Drones can operate beneath or around dense smoke plumes from active fires to identify new ignition points nearby.
The target users are: (1) Public Agencies such as National Inter-agency Fire Center, the U.S. Forest Service, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (currently handling 7855 wildfire). (2) Critical infrastructure operators such as Pacific Gas & Electric, large private landowners, such as owners of large vineyards/wineries or owners of large ranches.
