THE COMPANY IS STARTING IN MOSCOW WITH FIRELESS2: A SOLUTION FOR ESTEMATING THE WILDFIRE IGNITION RISK BY WIRELESS SENSOR’S
NETWORK
Lugano, August , 2010 - The fires that hit Russia could come to cost the country $ 15 billion (11 billion euros), a figure equivalent to one per cent of gross domestic product, calculated the economic daily 'Kommersant'. According to Russian authorities, the last week have developed 26 thousand fires across Russia and currently are on fire 1700 km square of land. Official figures of the Civil Protection slam in the last 24 hours 247 new fires were formed, and over 239 have been extinguished, while 557 are still burning across the country.
Marco Brini, CEO Enveve, will soon be in Moscow to present a proposition for a reliable prevision of the wildfire ignition risk by wireless sensors network developed with the WSL, Swiss Federal Rresearch Institute in Bellinzona. FIRELESS2, the name of system
that could help preventing future trigger fires that are ravaging Russia and especially the forests of the region of Ryazan.
“The project NaturAlert EnvEve - said Marco Brini - was originally developed to monitor forest fires and allow operators to a rapid and targeted reaction. Internet has now changed the way we perceive the world, has demonstrated the power of information accessed and shared. Bring the nature on the Internet is a necessary step to change the
relationship with the environment. “Today, this system can detect various natural
phenomena from hydrogeological risks to emissions of harmful gases in industrial plants, pipelines and dams to control, detect or exceeded the thresholds of fine particles in large cities. NatuAlert consists of a sentinel network of sensors distributed throughout the
country that collect data in real time through wireless connections. The network is fully automatic, to minimize maintenance and eliminate the risk of false alarms. Internet has now changed the way we perceive the world, has demonstrated the power of information
accessed and shared. Bring the nature on the Internet is a necessary step to change the relationship with the environment. “
A wave of technology comparable, by its reach, to the release of the Internet as a mean of mass communication. While the latter was designed to relate persons, the new wireless solutions for remote detection place the objects themselves in the center of the
paradigm. We are talking about the wireless sensor network, distributed without physical bounds, able to measure environmental parameters. EnvEve created to bring in the world the dream of the Internet of nature. A complete solution that represents a leap technology
in environmental monitoring.
“The idea - said Marco Brini - was born in 2003 and was developed in Italy by Minteos in collaboration with the Polytechnic of Turin. In 2007 considered among the three most important innovations in Europe Relay Center (now the European Enterprise Network) .
In 2008 Minteos is selected in the Copernicus program of the canton of Ticino (Switzerland). Born in 2008 EnvEve SA technology that detects Minteos. EnvEve is
selected and accepted at the prestigious Technopole Lugano, which now houses EnvEve of Ticino.
Here comes in 2009 FIRELESS2: from the need to predict and anticipate fire, rather than detect its presence. EnvEve opening collaborations with SUPSI and launching a experimental project with WSL Swiss Federal Research Institute in Bellinzona for the
detection of the dynamic ignition risk of forest fires. “ FireLess 2 is an innovative wireless sensor network for monitoring environmental parameters related to the forest fire ignition risk. The system is composed by 3 main units acquiring different variables:
• MeteoGateway
• LITTER Sentry
• HUMUS Sentry
Nowadays the fire ignition and spread risk is indirectly estimated by the means of fire weather indices or by measurements provided by standard fuel stick. Fireless 2 allows to acquisition of real time moisture data of different fuel types by the mean of wireless sensors placed in the litter layer (LITTER sentry roughly corresponding to the FFMC of the on FWISystem), and in the humus layer (HUMUS sentry roughly corresponding to the DMC or the DC codes of the FWI according to the depth of positioning in the organic part of the upper soil).
The microcomputer EnvEve constantly monitor different fuel types and layer in the forests to assess the potential ignition risk and the potential intensity of the related fire,
what represents a valuable real-time information for the intervention teams.
The project will represent a breakthrough World and the resulting product can be sold abroad: Italy, Greece, Portugal, Spain and USA, among the first affected.
FIRELESS2 could help predicting and avoiding future fire disaster in Russia?
The answer is absolutely yes. let's see how it works.
Communication system uses two main radio bands:
• 433 MHz, communication between Sentries- MeteoGateway
• GSM communication between MeteoGateway - OC (Operative Central).
The transmission architecture uses a Collision Detect Algorithm to identify and manage data error during transmission. The OC Operative Central update every sentry status using the transmission of heart-beat pack periodically sent by every device.”
Everything is controlled by microsystem operating EnvEve developed entirely by, for high reliability and very limited consumption. Software Central collects and manages
information from all devices in the field, sorting individual alarms, sending up automatic email,
SMS or phone calls. A simple connection Internet allows users to see the territory
and in real time the risk profile of the environment. The result is a system characterized
by rapid alert times, difficult to compare with the solutions currently taken for the
prevention of catastrophic events: only five seconds after detection of a fire at the reception a call or SMS alerts. A system that marks a management paradigm of
environmental signals that, if used a large scale, geographically as well as applicationlevel
can radically change the relationship between scenarios man and environment. The
wireless sensors distributed throughout the woods on the banks rivers, hills, landslides
on the slopes, in the city, within warehouse or industrial premises, workshops, act as
sentinels, constantly monitoring risk areas, ensuring in a few seconds every dangerous
condition and immediately alerting the central system that notifies an alarm through
numerous channels, including mobile and Internet. Alarms are able to alert response
teams in seconds allowing the preservation of human life, property, wildlife.
The wireless monitoring of the territory, is a response modern and effective for longstanding problems of hydrogeological and risk from natural disasters.
Currently projects have been installed in:
• detection of forest fires in Italy and Greece
• dynamic detection risk for forest fires; project
with the experimental research center and Canton WSL Ticino
• detection of flooding rivers in Italy,
• Structural monitoring of dams on Italy,
• detection spillage into sewers (Athens)
• fire detection in stores and sites through an innovative analysis system for combustion
gases