Summertime = test time! The summer of 2024 was a period of product tests for CAURUS Technologies, furthering the development of our innovative aerial wildfire fighting system. Together with partners from the civil protection sector, we tested the system’s sensor module for robustness, functionality and data collection in flight. We hooked the sensor onto different helicopters, used for training of aerial firefighting scenarios, to see how it behaves while in flight.
Three criteria were looked at:
- Robustness of the sensor’s hull during flight and while filling water in lakes and with pumps. In a real firefighting mission, the sensor module will have to withstand motion in the air from winds and the flight. It must also remain water-tight when the aircraft refills its water buckets/containers in open water.
- Functionality during pre-mission preparation and flight. The sensor module is designed to function without additional service personnel and with minutes of set-time only. Ease of use, visibility and usability of data and imagery for drop analytics were confirmed.
- And, finally, quality imagery combined with geo-localisation and various add-on parameters like height and traveling speed, were gathered by the sensor’s cameras and motion unit during flight.
Insights from the test flights allowed CAURUS Technologies to further evolve the data base structure, improve the georeferencing functionality by processing movement, and develop the next stages of the software interface. The entire system comprises a sensor module, software processing and a dispersion extinguishing module based on creating a water-aerosol cloud.
The tests were carried out during training sessions with various civil protection actors. CAURUS Technologies were able to capture direct and diverse user feedback on the functionality the sensor module for firefighting purposes. Initial feedback from firefighting experts confirmed that the newly gained transparency on what was going on underneath the helicopter during water filling and water drop would fundamentally change the way pilots and incident commanders would be able to manage wildfire response in future.
With CAURUS Technologies’ sensor attached to the helicopter during highly dynamic fire emergencies, users can gain situational awareness without additional drones occupying the airspace. The data can immediately be used in mission decision-making: it allows the incident command to define firefighting tactics based on realtime data, which in turn means firefigthers can better contain or suppress fires in the future.
A first set of tests has been completed in Germany and adjacent countries. Now CAURUS Technologies seeks to extend tests beyond these places to gather and integrated insights from other geographies, with diverse topographies, vegetation or weather patterns. Interested parties are invited to reach out to us directly.
CAURUS Technologies is developing a modular aerial firefighting system that aims to digitize the way water is used against wildfires to improve fire extinguishing precision, efficiency and safety of all involved forces. The company was founded in 2022 by a team of engineering, management and finance professionals with combined 120 years of experience.