Sensor technology can detect wildfire early, alert first responders via AI

Following a climate change-driven trend, this year’s wildfire season is expected to be severe.  

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection warns that “extended dryness originating from January is expected to continue into the spring with little perception leaving most of the state in moderate to extreme drought conditions prior to summer. These continued dry conditions with above normal temperatures through spring will leave fuel moisture levels lower than normal increasing the potential for wildland fire activity.” 

Given the implications of another bad wildfire season, organizations are pushing for solutions to help them be better prepared before ignition. Among technologies that are under development, N5 Sensors has developed a multi-modal sensor system that can detect wildfire before smoke becomes obvious, giving first responders a much-needed edge. 

“Most wildfires are still observed by people seeing smoke and calling 911—which can lead to delayed response,” said Abhishek Motayed, founder and CEO of N5 Sensor, which launched in 2012. “In a simple way, you can describe this technology almost like how humans perceive any kind of danger,” in that each system houses three sensors monitoring key environmental aspects— an infrared sensor, another for smoke and particle, and a third tracking gas and chemical changes.  

Along with monitoring for wildfire, the sensors can also monitor air quality. 

Early detection is imperative in wildfire response, because a fire that was smoldering hours ago “could become a big, raging wildfire,” Motayed said, noting the distance of detection depends entirely on the terrain and other environmental variables. “We’re talking about between 1 to 2 miles distance, and it’s highly dependent on the range, topography, all of that stuff.” 

Debra Deininger, N5 Sensor’s chief revenue officer, noted the “sweet spot” is between one-half and one mile. For the best coverage, more sensors are placed in densely populated and ecologically important areas and less in sparsely populated or unimportant areas. 

To contact first responders, artificial intelligence in both the sensors and a main hub linked via the cloud can alert any number of stakeholders. 

“We’re running some pretty sophisticated edge and cloud analytics,” Deininger said.  

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