Summary Reader Response Draft 1: “Drones Take Their Place on the Cutting Edge of Wildfire Fighting”
The article
"Drones Take Their Place on the Cutting Edge of Wildfire Fighting"
(Patterson, 2021) discussed a drone program created to combat wildfires.
According to Patterson, an experimental drone, the KHawk, with a quadcopter
design, is equipped with an autopilot system, a thermal camera, and other
specialized avionics. It's designed to fly autonomously with ground control
while transmitting weather and fire data, including forecasts of where the
flames will spread next. The researchers found difficulty getting the program
to work because of the fierce winds and turbulence caused by the extreme
temperatures. Designing small, portable wings that would keep the plane stable
amid wildfires and severe winds is still a challenge. It's critical to fly
small drones safely in these scenarios. Patterson also mentions how commercial
drone platforms equipped with the payload system IGNIS carry a basket filled
with ignition spheres, which carry those that are used to set up controlled
burns. The drone has built-in cameras, high-temperature sensors, autonomous
capabilities, and a remote emergency release mechanism. With these advanced
features and systems, drones stand out among the other methods currently used
to fight wildfires in terms of cost, efficiency, and safety.
Drones are
cost-efficient when compared to other methods currently used to fight wildfires
like helicopters, planes, and firefighters. Nowadays, helicopters use a similar
system to IGNIS for ignitions. Although they use the same mechanisms, they cost
more than drones. Drones are significantly cheaper and more versatile than
helicopters, especially when used to combat local wildfire operations.
According to Alexis et al. (2009), from an operational perspective, the use of
many low-cost unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) significantly reduces the costs
associated with the same flight scenario as compared to a traditional
helicopter. Moreover, Mark Bathrick, Director of the Office of Aviation
Services, states that drones can transmit high-quality data instantaneously for
a fraction of the cost of regular flights.
Correspondingly,
drones equipped with specialist avionics also outperform other methods for
combating wildfires in terms of efficiency. With eyes above the area as well as
the ability to fly the drone to hotspots, firefighters can battle the fire more
effectively. The scene commander can better lead the firefighters on the ground
to fight the wildfires with details provided by the drone. This allows
firefighters to spot dangerous wildfires quickly and fight them effectively, as
well as monitor and track forest fires. Sherstjuk and Zharikova (2018) modelled
a multi-UAV-based tactical forest fire monitoring system and proved that the
combination of automatic monitoring and remote sensing can be used to create an
estimated fire-spreading model that is effective and reliable in predicting
fires and improving the firefighting response.
Additionally,
drones can enhance safety by utilizing their advanced systems. Putting out
wildfires is a dangerous occupation. Between 2003 and 2016, 52 people died
while battling wildfires in the US alone. A firefighter's main task is to
observe the fire front to track the fire's progress and predict the path of a
wildfire so that it does not spread. This frequently results in a lack of
knowledge about the fire front, resulting in several accidents. In a risky
environment, UAVs can hover over hot spots. Deploying drones to capture
real-time data can help firefighters make better judgments and respond promptly
to danger. Mark Bathrick, Director of the Office of Aviation Services, sees the
increased use of drones as an opportunity to improve land and resource
management safety and efficiency. He also says that increasing the use of
unmanned aerial systems (UAS) or drones can improve safety in general.
However, drones
are also not perfect. Some of the downsides of a drone include its battery life
and heat tolerance. Although drones can operate in hot weather, extreme
temperatures still present a severe problem. In this case, drones are prone to
damage that causes permanent loss in battery capacity, stability, and lifespan.
When batteries are subjected to excessive heat, even with minimal exposure, the
batteries still heat up and deplete faster, resulting in a short lifespan. With
regards to operating in extreme temperatures, Myeong et al. (2017) proposed an
aerial robot made of fire-resistant material to prevent the risk of damage to
electronic equipment when directly exposed to flames.
Overall, drones
are ideal for land managers looking to test experimental methods for fighting
wildfires in the decades ahead. Drones have improved features and technologies
that offer them a competitive advantage over other methods in terms of cost,
efficiency, and safety, and they will play a prominent role in the near future.
Similarly, by fully utilizing drones, both manpower and casualties can be
decreased. For these reasons, the drone's significance cannot be overstated.
(766 words)
Reference:
[1] Patterson,
T. (2021, October 7). Drones Take Their Place on the Cutting Edge of Wildfire
Fighting. Flying Magazine: Sophisticated drones now find wildfire hot spots,
ignite controlled fires, and plant seeds for reforestation. In the future,
they’ll do even more. https://www.flyingmag.com/drones-wildfire-fighting/
[2]
Alexis K., Nikolakopoulos G., Tzes A., Dritsas L. (2009) Coordination of
Helicopter UAVs for Aerial Forest-Fire Surveillance. In: Valavanis K.P. (eds)
Applications of Intelligent Control to Engineering Systems. Intelligent
Systems, Control, and Automation: Science and Engineering, vol 39. Springer,
Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3018-4_7.
[3]
Interior Announces 2017 Drone Mission Report: Drone Fleet Supports Modern
Approach to Managing Wildfire and Natural Resources on Public Lands. U.S. Department
of the Interior, 21 Feb. 2018, https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-announces-2017-drone-mission-report. Accessed 12 February 2022.
[4] V. Sherstjuk, M.
Zharikova and I. Sokol, "Forest Fire-Fighting Monitoring System Based on
UAV Team and Remote Sensing," 2018 IEEE 38th International Conference on
Electronics and Nanotechnology (ELNANO), 2018, pp. 663-668, doi:
10.1109/ELNANO.2018.8477527.
[5] W. C. Myeong, K. Y.
Jung and H. Myung, "Development of FAROS (fire-proof drone) using an
aramid fiber armor and air buffer layer," 2017 14th International
Conference on Ubiquitous Robots and Ambient Intelligence (URAI), 2017, pp.
204-207, doi: 10.1109/URAI.2017.7992713.
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