Aerial systems aid in fire detection
The COMETS project has developed technologies and tools for real-time coordination and control of multiple heterogeneous UAVs. It has tapped into the ways in which various aerial systems such as helicopters and airships complement each other in terms of reciprocal data retrieval. The benefit of this method is that it increases fault tolerance and flexibility. The development process involved the creation of a new control system and technique as well as the integration of distributed sensing techniques and real-time image processing capacities. As a way to test and prove the system and techniques, the system was demonstrated in real-time forest fire detection, localisation and monitoring. The system's hardware components include visual and infrared cameras and electronic components such as a video server and sensors for vehicle positioning. Fire alarms are detected from the visual and infrared images. The software is able to join information sources so that the occurrence of false alarms is reduced. Furthermore the software can run on a laptop or onboard provided the vehicle is one which can operate a processor.
