Smart sensors deployed to spot forest fires in Italy

STORY: These smart sensors

can detect forest fires in Italy

Location: Montiferru, Italy

They're being used

in a part of Sardinia

that was hit by catastrophic

wildfires last year

REUBEN KINGSLAND, VODAFONE BUSINES:

“Think of it as a smart forest. Those sensors talk to each other across the forest and connect back to this, which is the gateway that sits at the edge of the forest.”

The sensors can detect gas

before the fire takes hold

And use a cloud-based system

that doesn't require cell service

MATT GREEN, VODAFONE BUSINESS:

“Comparing it to other solutions, you can use satellite imagery, but that can take up to a month for those satellite images to come back. Or you can use cameras within a forest area, but that can take hours before you notice the smoking fire. The detections that are done here are at the smouldering stage so much earlier on and you can detect a fire within minutes rather than in hours or days.”

REUBEN KINGSLAND SAYING:

“This technology is really important to fight climate change. One of the biggest things happening in climate change at the moment is forest fires across the world and ultimately, the solution which we're deploying will prevent forest fires from happening in the future."