Fires: first Italian solar-powered drone to detect fires

Made the first solar drone that it can detect to burn and minor outbreaks. Its name is “Firehound zero” and it has the appearance of a small airplane. Thanks to photovoltaic cells on its wings, it can fly autonomously for more than 8 hours. Another function is to monitor about 500 hectares per hour by means of infrared sensor. A way to give the control center the exact coordinates of even small fires before the fire becomes irreparable.

Fleets of these drones can provide a quick and accurate alarm in the event of accidental outbreaks, as well as actions by arsonists. A quick intervention by the firefighters. If you think that more than 1,500 square kilometers of forests and forests have been destroyed in Italy, drones could be the rescue.

The new drone has very small dimensions. It is 87 cm long, the opening of the wings is 2 m, weight is 1.5 kg. On the wings, it has 0.5 square meters of photovoltaic cells that charge the battery. The flight is at an operational altitude of 120 meters and has a speed of 40 km per hour. It has a thermal imager in the infrared band with the ability to identify fires by the temperature of the flames. The range is 10 km, which can reach several hundred kilometers with advanced technology on board. Its flight is also allowed in natural parks and protected areas thanks to its solar-powered electric motor. It is not polluting and it is also quiet.

We are currently in talks with a number of national agencies and local governments who wish to use fleets of “FireHound Zero” drones to continuously monitor the fire hazard areas in their territory from the air and provide fast and accurate information for the timely intervention of land firefighters and aerial. The ‘zero’ in the name of our drone is intended as a wish: to reduce the number of fires that break out to zero without being identified and delineated in time.

Andrea Beggio, expert in solar powered drones