BlazeDefend puts solar sensor nodes under the canopy, along the edges you most need to protect. They report heat, humidity, smoke and air quality around the clock. When the readings cross their thresholds, whoever is on duty gets an alert with the node’s position and a spread forecast.
Fig. 1Node N-07 crosses all three thresholds at 14:33. Hatched areas show where the fire is forecast to be after one, three and six hours with a 22 km/h wind from the north-east. Cedar Flat is about a kilometer past the six-hour line. Illustrative scenario.
The scenario in Fig. 1, as the gateway logged it. Underlined values are over their threshold.
temp 38.2 °Csmoke 342air 96
One of three readings over threshold.
temp 43.7 °Csmoke 410air 151
Two of three.
temp 51.0 °Csmoke 506air 233
All three.
smoke 318
The next node down the ridge picks up smoke too.
Alert pushed to the dashboard and to browser notifications, with N-07’s coordinates.
fire probability 87 %
Spread forecast attached to the alert.
A node that goes quiet for 15 minutes is marked offline on the map. During a fire, that is worth knowing too.
Every reading is checked against three thresholds as it arrives. Severity is how many are crossed at once, so an alert always says why it fired.
Temperature over
40°C
Smoke over
300
Air quality over
200
| Readings over threshold | Severity |
|---|---|
| Any one | Medium |
| Any two | High |
| All three | Critical |
A model also scores each node’s recent readings. The dashboard puts that number next to the count, so you can see when the two disagree.
A sealed box on a post or a tree trunk, below the canopy. No power line, no network cable.
Solar panel
Charges the battery during the day.
Radio antenna
Sends every reading to the site gateway.
Temperature and humidity
Inside a vented shield, out of direct sun.
Camera, optional
A still image to confirm what the sensors report.
Smoke and air quality
Vented housing under the box, where air moves freely.
Nodes watch a small area very closely. They don't replace cameras or satellites. They cover what those see worst: the first minutes, under the trees, next to what you're protecting.
Picks up
A smoke column rising above the trees.
How often
Continuous, from a high vantage point.
How much ground
Tens of kilometers, wherever there is line of sight.
Misses
Smoke hidden behind ridges, in haze or after dark, and anything nobody is watching.
Picks up
Heat from fires big enough to register from orbit.
How often
Every 5 to 10 minutes from geostationary orbit, at about 2 km per pixel. A few passes a day from polar orbit, at 375 m.
How much ground
Whole regions, with nothing installed on the ground.
Misses
Small fires, fires under canopy, and anything under cloud.
Picks up
Heat, smoke and air quality at ground level, under the canopy.
How often
Readings arrive continuously. Alerts are pushed the moment the rule trips.
How much ground
Only where nodes are installed.
Misses
Everything outside the network, which is why it belongs alongside the other two.
Pick the edge that worries you most: behind a town, along a power line, around a reserve. Send us a map link and we’ll come back with a node layout for it.
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