Compact UAS Sensor for Distributed Mapping of Wildfire Plumes

Wildfire frequency and severity is increasing across the US. Simply throwing more resources at the problem while doing things the same way is not a cost-effective solution to the wildfire crisis. Uncrewed Air Systems (UAS) provide the opportunity to conduct operations at night and in degraded visual conditions when firefighting conditions are more favorable but crewed assets are grounded. However, there are many hazards associated with operating UAS around wildfires at night including dangerous wildfire plumes. This research focuses on tackling the problem of detecting, mapping, and avoiding the high energy wildfire plume. Plumes contain extreme temperatures, severe updrafts and windshear to include firenadoes and areas of zero visibility. We propose a novel UAS compatible sensor for real time distributed mapping of plumes using Long Wave Infrared (LWIR) sensing technology. A 3D plume model will be assembled from multiple viewpoints similar to a 3D Radon transform. Onboard “edge” processing will allow local sense and avoid capability to support UAS autonomy. The 3D plume data will support digital twin Common Operating Pictures that facilitate second shift operations from a common fire model. By shrinking the sensor to sUAS size and leveraging low-cost Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) components, the payload will be able to be placed on every crewed and uncrewed asset participating in the firefight. The research also applies to other emergency airspace operations where use of UAS for response to chemical spills, tornadoes, radiological events and volcanic activity will benefit from the capability to sense and avoid plumes. The proposed research can directly support the NASA FireSense and ACERO wildfire projects. In addition, commercial UAS operators are rapidly expanding wildfire services. The proposed plume mapping sensor will enhance revenue streams for these commercial operators.

The proposed research will advance NASA development efforts for UAV based navigation in extreme environmental settings including wildfires. Additionally, the research applies to emergency response to volcanic, chemical or radiological plumes. The UAS wildfire plume mapping sensor supports both the NASA FireSense and Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) projects. For FireSense, plume mapping supports project wildfire sensing and modeling objectives. The Phase I concept demonstration sensor will have similar Space Weight Air and Power (SWAP) characteristics as the company’s TACFI-RS wildfire mapping sensor currently flying on a NASA LaRC Supervolo XL UAS. The sensor should be a near drop-in replacement to the current TACFI-RS sensor. This will allow FireSense to perform a low-risk initial UAS evaluations of the technology. For ACERO, fire plume mapping is a key enabler for UAS participation in second shift aerial firefighting and emergency response operations. UAS suppression missions near the fire front require the ability to “sense and avoid” the dangerous wildfire plume. The sensor development timeline supports future ACERO UAS wildfire suppression demonstrations. Outside of UAS operations, the plume mapping sensor will support other NASA research initiatives including smoke forecasting, fire behavior modeling, predicting fire brand spot fire ignitions, and air traffic management. Numerous areas exist to collaborate with NASA on this project. NASA is also well suited to standardizing imaging techniques, data standards, and quality metrics. NASA has vast processing and storage resources that can be used for larger multi-platform demonstrations and eventual operational implementation. And finally, correlation of in situ imaged 3D plume models to NASA remote imaging may improve smoke forecasting tools. Commercial UAS operators are rapidly entering the growing wildfire services market. Missions include persistent surveillance, Search and Rescue (SAR), resupply, and suppression. The operators require the ability to sense and avoid dangerous wildfire plumes, especially during second shift operations when UAS have more access to the Fire Traffic Area (FTA) airspace. The proposed low SWAP sensor will enhance revenue streams for UAS operators. Ideally the functionality will be able to be merged with the company’s TACFI-RS wildfire mapping sensor. This would allow for simultaneous fire mapping, plume mapping, and sense and avoid operations. Combined fire and plume mapping functionality will grow commercial revenue opportunities by collecting and distributing more actionable wildfire data from a single sensor and platform. In addition to UAS operators, there exists a commercial ecosystem for innovative downstream products derived from the raw fire and plume data. Examples include smoke forecasting, assessing hazards to utilities, proprietary firebrand/spot fire modeling, and airline hazard avoidance routing.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

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