The West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) has adopted pioneering measures to combat the growing menace of wildfires. Utilizing all-terrain vehicles, mapping tools, and advanced weather forecasting applications, the service aims to predict fire behavior and respond effectively to these dangerous incidents. More importantly, they have developed and started to field-test lightweight personal protective equipment specifically engineered to protect firefighters immersively operating in hostile environments over long durations.
Wildfires have been getting increasingly frequent and intense across the globe. In answer, Dr. Kamran Mahroof of the University of Bradford has been coordinating a collaborative research project involving scientists, artists and entrepreneurs to develop new wildfire detection capabilities. The project — a collaboration through the EU-funded 6G-VERSUS initiative — aims to develop state-of-the-art technology that can help quickly identify wildfires.
Dr. Mahroof emphasizes the urgency of their mission, stating, “The whole idea for us is to identify wildfires as soon as possible.” He is part of a team exploring advanced technologies such as 6G, drones, and robotic dogs to assess potential fire locations and mitigate risks swiftly.
Managing the project is a team of researchers from the Greek-based Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (ICCS). This team is under the supervision of Dr. Konstantinos Katsaros and Dr. Lazaros Karagiannidis. They are developing a combined robotic dog and aerial drone system intended to enhance situational awareness for first responders during wildfire events.
“In the Greek pilot of SNS-JU 6G-VERSUS, we’re developing a combined robotic dog and aerial drone system that boosts situational awareness for first responders during wildfires. By applying AI to interpret real-time camera feeds and using 6G links to relay the data, we can help teams quickly identify people at risk and deploy resources where they’re needed most, all while keeping responders safe.” – Dr Konstantinos Katsaros and Dr Lazaros Karagiannidis
As part of their research collaboration, this team will be traveling to Greece next year. WYFRS is very interested to hear more of the technology that Dr. Mahroof’s team are developing. They of course will be getting in touch in the near future to talk about how it can be applied, for example, to managing wildfires.
Earlier this year in September 2020, research was funded by the European Union’s Horizon Innovation Action programme. This support underscores the increasingly clear need to tackle wildfires as a growing and urgent global challenge. The project was recently highlighted at an event in Birmingham that focused on how artificial intelligence can address worldwide issues.
Dr. Mahroof reiterated the significance of their work by stating, “We are immensely proud to be at the forefront of research addressing this pressing global challenge.” The growing threat of wildfires Wildfires are increasing in their severity. Embracing advanced technologies will be key to ensuring effective response strategies and keeping our communities safe.