Following the destruction of the devastating Los Angeles wildfires which were estimated to cost more than $250 billion, Dryad Networks announced a successful demonstration of the world’s first fully functional drone prototype solution to autonomously detect, locate, monitor and eventually extinguish wildfires.
At an event taking place on 27th March in Eberswalde, Germany, Dryad demonstrated that its Silvaguard drone system autonomously responded to a controlled fire detected almost instantly by its Silvanet sensor system for ultra-early wildfire detection.
Upon detection, a Silvaguard drone was released and autonomously navigated to the sensor location, providing real-time aerial observation to pinpoint the fire’s location and size, helping to save precious time and resources. This demonstration marks a significant step toward the vision of autonomous wildfire suppression. Silvaguard drones ultimately will also be able to extinguish wildfires in their initial stages with innovative suppression technology such as acoustic waves.
“With wildfires growing more destructive each year, ultra-early detection alone may no longer be enough as the response time of traditional fire suppression methods often takes too long; we need to extend to rapid and autonomous suppression systems,” said Carsten Brinkschulte, CEO and Co-Founder, Dryad Networks. “Silvaguard represents a critical leap forward toward the vision of AI-powered drones extinguishing fires before they spread. This demonstration marked the first step toward a future where we can detect and extinguish fires within minutes from ignition. Dryad is in a unique position to deliver on this vision, because our Silvanet system detects fires within minutes, when the limited capabilities of a drone-based response may still have a chance to extinguish a fire.”
The event was moderated by Lindon Pronto, senior wildfire management expert at the European Forest Institute and featured presentations by Dryad’s CEO Carsten Brinkschulte and Pedro Silva, Dryad’s Chief Technology Officer. The highlight was a real-time wildfire scenario where Dryad’s Silvanet sensors detected a fire, sent an alert, and a Silvaguard drone autonomously dispatched from its solar-powered hangar to investigate the threat, providing overhead optical and infrared imagery.
The demonstration of Silvaguard as a fully functional prototype for wildfire suppression using drones lays the groundwork for real-time, automated wildfire protection.
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