Technion AI Helps Enable Early Wildfire Detection Using Advanced Drone System
Prof. Assaf Schuster: "The Fire Detection system demonstrates how scientific excellence can be translated into a practical solution that helps save lives"
As wildfires become more frequent and severe due to climate change, the Technion has joined the Ministry of National Security, the Israel Innovation Authority, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), and the Israel Fire and Rescue Authority in developing an advanced drone-based system designed to detect fires within minutes of ignition.
The project recently completed its first successful flight test, marking an important milestone in the development of a system that could significantly improve emergency response by providing real-time detection and precise localization of fire outbreaks, particularly in large, remote, or difficult-to-access areas.
The system is mounted on IAI’s APUS 25 vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) drone and combines day and night cameras with infrared sensors capable of detecting fire hotspots even through smoke and in darkness. The Technion’s contribution lies in the development of advanced image-processing algorithms and artificial intelligence that analyze the incoming data in real time, identify fire outbreaks, determine their precise location, and transmit immediate alerts to the Israel Fire and Rescue Authority’s command center.
The drone is capable of monitoring hundreds of square kilometers during a single flight while remaining airborne for several hours, providing emergency responders with continuous situational awareness and enabling faster, more effective deployment of firefighting resources.
The Technion team is led by Prof. Assaf Schuster of the Henry and Marilyn Taub Faculty of Computer Science. “The Fire Detection system demonstrates how scientific excellence can be translated into a practical solution that helps save lives and reduce damage,” said Prof. Schuster. “By combining the drone platform with our expertise in algorithms and artificial intelligence, we enable fire and rescue authorities to make decisions based on real-time information and respond to fires more rapidly, more efficiently, and at an earlier stage. It is a great privilege to be part of such an important national project.”
