Conceptual design of a wildfire emergency response system empowered by swarms of unmanned aerial vehicles

The frequency and extent of wildfire emergencies have increased globally during the past few decades. Consequently, a large amount of resources are regularly spent on these events in order to protect people, their homes, and the environment. Underpinned by software and hardware technology advancements, particularly concerning sensors, navigation, and artificial intelligence, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have proven valuable in supporting different aspects of a wildfire emergency response. However, their use is ad-hoc and task-specific within already established systems rather than forming an integral part of their design. Furthermore, while UAV swarms are aimed at exploiting the power of self-organisation and collective intelligence to collaboratively solve tasks that would be impossible to solve otherwise, they add complexity to the design. Additionally, regulations are still remarkably restrictive in terms of operations beyond visual line of sight, autonomy, and self-organisation. This paper identifies the tasks for which the use of UAV swarms is deemed beneficial for a wildfire emergency response system, and regulations that hinder their acceptance, adoption, and integration. A systems engineering approach is then adopted to propose a conceptual design of a human-centred wildfire emergency response system empowered by UAV swarms—including software, hardware, human components, their interactions, and their interfaces. Such a system offers real-time high-resolution monitoring and situational awareness of the fire front, burned area, and evacuation process; support for propagation forecasts and decision-making; and participation in fire suppression activities. Therefore, it protects wildlife, the lives of wildfire responders, and those of residents in the affected areas and beyond.