Climate change has made wildfires more common, widespread, and destructive, not to mention their smoke spreading hundreds of miles to affect air quality worldwide.
Until recently, there have been limited investments that help detect and track fires. ForestGuard is a new innovation that gives early warning of forest fires, allowing firefighters valuable time to plan and fight fires.
Using a system of satellite-enabled sensors strapped to trees, they communicate with one another and human operators, giving notice of changing air quality and presence of wildfire smoke.
Only one ForestGuard sensor is required per every 16 hectares of forest, or around one per 16,000 trees. The sensors strap directly to trees in the forest, in essence becoming the ‘internet of things’ for vulnerable forests.
In tests and simulations, the sensors lower the alert time for firefighters from 90 minutes to just 15 minutes.
Co-founder Suat Batuhan Esirger is shown in the forest with his invention.
The winner of the prestigious James Dyson Award, the devices should be put to use immediately, and help detect and fight fires more effectively.
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