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Article

UAV-Based Forest Fire Early Warning and Intervention Simulation System with High-Accuracy Hybrid AI Model

by
Muhammet Sinan Başarslan
1,* and
Hikmet Canlı
2
1
Department of Computer Engineering, Istanbul Medeniyet University, İstanbul 34700, Turkey
2
Department of Software Engineering, Istanbul Gedik University, İstanbul 34876, Turkey
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(3), 1201; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16031201
Submission received: 28 December 2025 / Revised: 12 January 2026 / Accepted: 21 January 2026 / Published: 23 January 2026

Featured Application

The proposed system can be directly applied to early forest fire detection and rapid response planning using UAV-based surveillance infrastructures. By combining a high-accuracy hybrid deep learning model with a balanced drone task assignment algorithm, the system enables real-time identification of fire events and efficient allocation of available UAV resources. This approach is particularly suitable for large forest areas, national parks, and wildfire-prone regions, where fast intervention and optimal resource utilization are critical. The system can support decision-makers by reducing false alarms, minimizing response time, and improving energy-efficient deployment of firefighting drones.

Abstract

In this study, a hybrid deep learning model that combines the VGG16 and ResNet101V2 architectures is proposed for image-based fire detection. In addition, a balanced drone guidance algorithm is developed to efficiently assign tasks to available UAVs. In the fire detection phase, the hybrid model created by combining the VGG16 and ResNet101V2 architectures has been optimized with Global Average Pooling and layer merging techniques to increase classification success. The DeepFire dataset was used throughout the training process, achieving an extremely high accuracy rate of 99.72% and 100% precision. After fire detection, a task assignment algorithm was developed to assign existing drones to fire points at minimum cost and with balanced load distribution. This algorithm performs task assignments using the Hungarian (Kuhn–Munkres) method and cost optimization, and is adapted to direct approximately equal numbers of drones to each fire when the number of fires is less than the number of drones. The developed system was tested in a Python-based simulation environment and evaluated using performance metrics such as total intervention time, energy consumption, and task balance. The results demonstrate that the proposed hybrid model provides highly accurate fire detection and that the task assignment system creates balanced and efficient intervention scenarios.
Keywords: forest fire; hybrid learning; real-time task assignment; VGG16; ResNet101V2 forest fire; hybrid learning; real-time task assignment; VGG16; ResNet101V2

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Başarslan, M.S.; Canlı, H. UAV-Based Forest Fire Early Warning and Intervention Simulation System with High-Accuracy Hybrid AI Model. Appl. Sci. 2026, 16, 1201. https://doi.org/10.3390/app16031201

AMA Style

Başarslan MS, Canlı H. UAV-Based Forest Fire Early Warning and Intervention Simulation System with High-Accuracy Hybrid AI Model. Applied Sciences. 2026; 16(3):1201. https://doi.org/10.3390/app16031201

Chicago/Turabian Style

Başarslan, Muhammet Sinan, and Hikmet Canlı. 2026. "UAV-Based Forest Fire Early Warning and Intervention Simulation System with High-Accuracy Hybrid AI Model" Applied Sciences 16, no. 3: 1201. https://doi.org/10.3390/app16031201

APA Style

Başarslan, M. S., & Canlı, H. (2026). UAV-Based Forest Fire Early Warning and Intervention Simulation System with High-Accuracy Hybrid AI Model. Applied Sciences, 16(3), 1201. https://doi.org/10.3390/app16031201

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