Thermal-Drones as a Safe and Reliable Method for Detecting Subterranean Peat Fires

Drones

Claire Burke¹  Steve Longmore¹  Yunsiska Ermiasi²  Bernat Ripoll²  MarkE. Harrison²  Owen McAree³  Serge Wich⁴  Margarita Mulero-Pázmány⁴  Kitso Kusin⁵ 

[1] Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF, UK;Borneo Nature Foundation, Jl. Bukit Raya No. 82, Palangka Raya 73112, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia;Faculty of Science, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK;School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK;UPT CIMTROP, University of Palangka Raya, Jl. Yos Sudarso, Palangka Raya 73111, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia;

关键词: peat fires;    remote sensing;    thermal infrared;    astro-ecology;   

DOI  :  10.3390/drones3010023

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Underground peat fires are a major hazard to health and livelihoods in Indonesia, and are a major contributor to carbon emissions globally. Being subterranean, these fires can be difficult to detect and track, especially during periods of thick haze and in areas with limited accessibility. Thermal infrared detectors mounted on drones present a potential solution to detecting and managing underground fires, as they allow large areas to be surveyed quickly from above and can detect the heat transferred to the surface above a fire. We present a pilot study in which we show that underground peat fires can indeed be detected in this way. We also show that a simple temperature thresholding algorithm can be used to automatically detect them. We investigate how different thermal cameras and drone flying strategies may be used to reliably detect underground fires and survey fire-prone areas. We conclude that thermal equipped drones are potentially a very powerful tool for surveying for fires and firefighting. However, more investigation is still needed into their use in real-life fire detection and firefighting scenarios.

【 授权许可】

Unknown