Lancashire Fire and Rescue trials Windracers ULTRA for wildfire prevention

Lancashire Fire and Rescue has tested a swarm of self-coordinating drones for firefighting, as part of an effort to develop cost-effective early mitigation strategies for wildfires.

The UK fire and rescue service has teamed up with Windracers, a British manufacturer of self-flying cargo aircraft, and some of the country’s most respected artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics scientists, based at the University of Bristol and the University of Sheffield. Together they have developed unique technology for autonomously detecting and suppressing fires before they spread into uncontrollable wildfires.

Windracers ULTRA self-flying cargo aircraft, which have also been used to carry parcels to the Orkney Islands as well as to collect scientific data in Antarctica, are each able to carry 100kg of fire retardant. They can fly autonomously in a search pattern to monitor danger areas over the summer months, with a swarm of drones potentially covering areas the size of Greece.

Using AI technology from the University of Sheffield – which incorporates thermal and optical imaging – the drones can automatically detect and investigate fires and relay all the information to the fire team. Under the supervision of fire and rescue teams and using swarm technology developed by the University of Bristol, the drones can then intelligently self-coordinate as first responders to rapidly deploy fire retardant onto the fire, monitor the situation and return to base.

The trial

Stephen Wright, Founder and Executive Chairman of Windracers, commented: “This successful trial was the culmination of four years of research and development which brought together some of the country’s greatest minds in autonomous aviation, AI and robotics to help tackle one of society’s greatest challenges.”

The week-long trial, which was based at Predannack airport in Cornwall, rigorously tested the autonomous fire detection and swarm capabilities using one ULTRA and three smaller drones. ULTRA and the drones successfully identified and approached several small, controlled fires, which were monitored closely by fire and rescue services.

The project has been funded by the Future Flight Challenge at UK Research and Innovation, delivered by Innovate UK.

Wildfires have become more frequent, large, and severe in the UK. Factors such as land use changes, higher temperatures, drought conditions, and climate change contribute to this trend. In 2022, there were over 44,000 wildfires – a rise of 72% from the previous year.

Jennifer Draughon, Neptune Aviation Services President, recently spoke to the AirMed&Rescue team about how the aerial firefighting industry can stay on top of the growing threat of wildfire.