Towards Improved Airborne Fire Detection Systems Using Beetle Inspired Infrared Detection and Fire Searching Strategies
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Peter Grünberg Institut, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
2
Institut für Zoologie, Universität Bonn, Meckenheimer Allee 169, 53115 Bonn, Germany
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Gijs Krijnen
Micromachines 2015, 6(6), 718-746; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi6060718
Received: 31 March 2015
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Accepted: 29 May 2015
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Published: 16 June 2015
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomimetic Systems)
Every year forest fires cause severe financial losses in many countries of the world. Additionally, lives of humans as well as of countless animals are often lost. Due to global warming, the problem of wildfires is getting out of control; hence, the burning of thousands of hectares is obviously increasing. Most important, therefore, is the early detection of an emerging fire before its intensity becomes too high. More than ever, a need for early warning systems capable of detecting small fires from distances as large as possible exists. A look to nature shows that pyrophilous “fire beetles” of the genus Melanophila can be regarded as natural airborne fire detection systems because their larvae can only develop in the wood of fire-killed trees. There is evidence that Melanophila beetles can detect large fires from distances of more than 100 km by visual and infrared cues. In a biomimetic approach, a concept has been developed to use the surveying strategy of the “fire beetles” for the reliable detection of a smoke plume of a fire from large distances by means of a basal infrared emission zone. Future infrared sensors necessary for this ability are also inspired by the natural infrared receptors of Melanophila beetles.
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Keywords:
forest fire; fire detection; infrared sensor; early warning system; pyrophilous insect; Melanophila beetle
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MDPI and ACS Style
Bousack, H.; Kahl, T.; Schmitz, A.; Schmitz, H. Towards Improved Airborne Fire Detection Systems Using Beetle Inspired Infrared Detection and Fire Searching Strategies. Micromachines 2015, 6, 718-746. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi6060718
AMA Style
Bousack H, Kahl T, Schmitz A, Schmitz H. Towards Improved Airborne Fire Detection Systems Using Beetle Inspired Infrared Detection and Fire Searching Strategies. Micromachines. 2015; 6(6):718-746. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi6060718
Chicago/Turabian StyleBousack, Herbert, Thilo Kahl, Anke Schmitz, and Helmut Schmitz. 2015. "Towards Improved Airborne Fire Detection Systems Using Beetle Inspired Infrared Detection and Fire Searching Strategies" Micromachines 6, no. 6: 718-746. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi6060718
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