Huawei and its partners, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) and the start-up PROBOTEK, have successfully tested a forest fire prevention system in Greece.
The partners tested the real-time detection system using a smoke and fire simulation. The solution, which is part of the Huawei initiative TECH4ALL was developed to enable fire and rescue services to respond to potential forest fires within 15 minutes – the time frame in which the fire risk can best be controlled.
“Over the past 20 years, Huawei has introduced leading technologies in Greece and believes in the power of innovation to protect the environment, preserve biodiversity and ensure the security of citizens and their property,” said Ren Fujun, CEO of Huawei’s Southeast Europe region.
Due to hot, dry and windy summers, mainland Greece and the Greek islands are very vulnerable to large-scale forest fires. Given the impacts of climate change, fires in Greece are increasing in number and frequency every year, with potentially lasting impacts on natural ecosystems and an increased risk of loss of life and property damage.
The smoke and fire simulation test conducted by NKUA and PROBOTEK took place on the NKUA premises in a forested area of Athens. Sensors in the forest area connected via Huawei’s network technologies prompted the command center to send an automatically controlled drone to the test site.
Based on the video footage transmitted by the drone, combined with meteorological and geomorphological data, the AI analysis used was able to detect fire and smoke events in real time and predict the following:
- The path of the fire and the area it would cover.
- The time until the fire would reach inhabited areas.
- Which areas would be at risk from fires and would need to be evacuated.
- Information about evacuation routes.
The emergency system includes an AI-based command center networked via the 5G network with drones and sensors that detect airborne particles, CO2, temperature, wind direction and speed.
The first phase of the solution, launched in 2022 at the Syngrou estate near Athens, used drones and AI to detect fires. The new solution expands the functionality of the system to include fire spread analysis, evacuation planning and route planning for fire and rescue vehicles. It can also estimate how many people in the area will be affected by the fire and send personalized notifications to residents’ phones via an app, suggesting evacuation routes based on the community’s disaster response plans.
The overall solution will include rapid evacuation protocols designed to save lives and reduce the extensive damage to land and property that wildfires typically cause.
A demonstration of the solution in action is in Connecting with Nature to see the third episode of the Discovery documentary “Being Digi-Sapiens“, which shows first-hand the precision of the system, including the triggering of the sensors and the deployment of the drones.
Information about Huawei TECH4ALL
TECH4ALL is Huawei’s long-term digital inclusion initiative aimed at promoting inclusion and sustainability in the digital world.
For more information, please visit the Huawei TECH4ALL website at: https://www.huawei.com/en/tech4all
Follow us on X:
https://twitter.com/HUAWEI_TECH4ALL
Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2496058/1.jpg
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/huawei-und-partner-testen-erfolgreich-neue-losung-zur-erkennung-von-waldbranden-in-griechenland-302238685.html