The first AI Fire Detection System

Blog Credit: Trupti Thakur

Image Courtesy: Google

The First AI Fire Detection System

The  Pench Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra has recently added a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) system that is meant to find forest fires early. On June 26, 2024, this important technological development was made public.

Technology Implementation

A cutting-edge PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) camera is placed on a tower on one of the reserve’s highest hills, about 540 meters above sea level, close to the village of Kirringisarra. This is how the new system works. With a field of view of 15 kilometers, this camera can successfully watch over more than 350 square kilometers of forest. The system also has a control room in the West  Pench range office in Kolitmara and uses information from fifteen commercial satellite services.

AI-Powered Platform: Pantera

The  AI platform, which has been named “Pantera,” uses high-resolution camera feeds and satellite data to send real-time fire reports three minutes after a fire is found. This system is a huge step forward in improving the monitoring of forest fires. It goes from using satellites alone to sending alerts to a more comprehensive method.

Benefits of the  AI System

• Enhanced Detection Capabilities:Pantera has infrared technology that works around the clock that can tell the difference between smoke and clouds. This feature cuts down on false sirens by a large amount, making fire alerts more reliable.
• Data Integration and Predictive Analysis:The system takes in more information about the weather, including temperature, rainfall, and wind speed. By comparing these data to past fires, Pantera can also guess what fires might happen in the future, which helps with proactive fire control.
• Resource Management:Pantera helps track the real-time locations of important resources about fire locations by adding GPS systems to forest trucks and water tanks. This makes response operations more efficient.

Impact and Collaborative Efforts

Putting this  AI system into use is a big step forward in how  Pench Tiger Reserve handles forest fires. Some of the benefits that are expected are faster responses to new fires, better use of resources, and better defense of the forest’s ecosystem and wildlife. The  Pench Tiger Reserve, the Satpuda Foundation, the Brazilian company Umgrameio, and Forest Fire Tech from Scaale Inc. in the USA all worked together on this project. Solar Industries India Ltd. in Nagpur provided some of the money, and the Maharashtra government also gave money.

 

 

Blog By: Trupti Thakur