Forest Fire Prevention and Patents

 

Recently, a massive forest fire occurred in Korea, resulting in significant casualties. A major wildfire also broke out in Los Angeles, USA, this past January. Such large-scale forest fires are not unique to the United States or Korea. In this article, we will explore various technologies and devices aimed at preventing forest fires.

Forest fire in Yeongdeok
(source: Yonhap news)

Priority in Forest Fire Prevention: Monitoring

The biggest challenge in forest fires is the difficulty in accurately identifying the ignition point and its cause. Therefore, more precise and comprehensive forest fire monitoring is essential. So, what technologies and patents can help monitor forest fires?

First, the most basic method is a forest fire monitoring system using thermal sensors and CCTV. This invention uses thermal imaging cameras to detect smoke from a forest fire through video analysis, enabling early monitoring and detection from a long distance when a fire occurs.

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KR10-2023-0064787
Forest fire notification system using CCTV equipped with thermal sensor

Next, there is a system using LiDAR for forest fire monitoring. LiDAR technology emits laser beams and analyzes the reflected light from objects to detect and measure them. The atmospheric LiDAR used in this system can detect light that changes direction due to smoke particles scattered by a forest fire, which helps determine the occurrence of a fire.

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KR10-2023-0007219, Apparatus and method for forest fire monitoring using lidar

There is also a technology that can automatically detect forest fires using data measured from GPS and satellites. This method considers the temporal and spatial characteristics of the data measured by satellites, allowing automatic detection of forest fires. The occurrence of a fire can be verified through satellite images that reflect brightness and temperature transmitted to data processing devices.

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KR10-2023-0072359, Method and apparatus for detecting forest fire

Lastly, drones are used for fire monitoring. This method is particularly applied for monitoring and suppressing remaining embers rather than extinguishing large-scale forest fires. Drones equipped with thermal cameras, fire-extinguishing pellets, and wireless communication modules can identify embers at the fire site and extinguish them effectively by dropping fire-extinguishing pellets on the location.

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KR10-2022-0189211,
Drone for wildfire monitoring and suppression and controlling method thereof

Quick Suppression if a Forest Fire Occurs!

If the above methods fail to prevent a forest fire, quick suppression is necessary. Due to the mountainous terrain, wildfires can spread rapidly and extensively in a very short period. How can these fires be suppressed?

The most common method is aerial firefighting using firefighting helicopters. These helicopters transport tanks filled with fire retardants to the fire site and spray the retardant at a high pressure to suppress the fire. Their powerful performance enables fast and widespread fire suppression.

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KR10-2022-0053493, Apparatus for midair extinguishing using firefighting helicopter

The following is a technology and device that installs water tanks and sprinklers on mountains to extinguish forest fires more quickly and effectively. It can be applied especially to areas where fire helicopters are difficult to access. Here's how it works. It installs a large-capacity water tank on top of a mountain and sprinklers that spray water along the mountain's perimeter, and when a forest fire occurs, it remotely sprays water using a hose that can be controlled remotely.

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KR10-2022-0082455, Forest fire extinguishing system

There is also the use of robots for fire suppression. This invention is a multi-legged walking robot designed to spray firefighting water and suppress forest fires at the fire site.

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KR10-2023-0023764, Multi-legged walking robot for fire suppression

Reducing the Damage Caused by Forest Fires

With dry and windy weather, the damage from forest fires continues to increase. We hope that the above methods will help suppress wildfires and that we can return to a safe daily life soon.

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