EFFECTIVE FOREST FIRE DETECTION SYSTEM USING VISUAL IMAGES AND UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE

Computer Science and Engineering

Wildfire has caused irreparable damages to local ecosystems as a natural disaster. Sudden, uncontrolled wildfires can pose a true threat to people's lives. The US National Fire Center (NIFC) data show that the burned region in the United States nearly exploded from 1990 to 2015. The total burned area reaches 6 million hectares worldwide and wildfires occur 220,000 times each year. Efficient and early intervention of wildfire is therefore extremely important. Forest fire regulation is a very important issue in which UAVs can play a major role. Forest fire monitoring is an extremely important issue. This paper discusses the application of UAVs as instruments for forest fire tracking. Fire surveillance is characterized as a real-time fire front type approximation and other possible fire propagation parameters. This paper explains how data can be gathered automatically by UAV using infrared and visual cameras on-board. In general, helicopter-like UAVs are extremely useful because they can be changed to viewpoints. It also shows how many UAVs can cooperate in the process of fire control, which enables mostly covered fires and complementary fire visions. This paper presents the findings of experiments involving a three UAV fleet which assume actual forest fire control under near-operative conditions. The UAV flies and receives aerial data, which helps users to quickly control the fire point’s number and position. Software control includes features such as fire origin module, the fire location module, the fire range evaluation system, and the report development module. Cooperation among various modules improves the efficiency of operation and detection of the system.

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