“Welcome to the drone revolution,” teases celebrity engineer Grant Imahara (of MythBusters fame) in the opening for Project First Responders, a web series documenting an exciting new application for drone technology: fighting forest fires.
Project First Responders aims to create a fleet of autonomous, interconnected drones to assist firefighters and police working to combat wildfires. “If you think of firefighters as first responders, this will be your zero responder,” says drone expert Ivan Stamatovski of Easy Aerial, whose GlobalARC “drone command center in the cloud” will provide the platform for communication between the autonomous drones.
The web series, which recently released its second episode, offers a glimpse into the engineering behind Project First Responders. In the first installment, Imahara and Stamatovski discuss the components involved in building the drones, including sensors and cameras, as well as the communication system between the drones. The second episode shows off the drone launch pads, and goes into more detail about how police and firefighters can work together with these drones.
Using thermal imaging and wind sensors, the drones will be able to provide valuable information on the movement direction of the blaze. And with high definition zoom cameras, the drones will also be able to help police in rescue operations. As Imahara points out, with nearly 75,000 wildfires each year in the United States, there’s a tremendous benefit to developing the fleet of flying firefighters.
"Drones can be a huge advantage to agencies fighting natural disasters," said Imahara. "They can launch immediately, gather vital data about an emergency situation and help efficiently relay that information to all agencies involved, all without putting further lives at risk."
To learn more about the drone revolution, watch the Project First Responders videos here, or check out Drones Get Hands-On with Robotic Arm Technology.