Experiment in fire surveying by means of a mini-uav

The Department of Aerospace Engineering of the University of Naples “Federico II” has recently carried out several experiments in the field of forest fire monitoring, based on a mini Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) prototype for both airborne remote sensing and autonomous navigation research activities. The first goal of the research was to demonstrate the feasibility of using a compact platform, capable of autonomous operation, as tactical system in missions of fire risk monitoring. To this aim, several flight campaigns were successfully carried out to test integration of avionics, electro optical payload, and telemetry and communications equipments onboard the available mini UAV prototype. Recently, ant experiment was arranged to gather image data over a controlled, real fire. This flight test represented a demonstration of the suitability of a mini UAV platform, equipped with an electro optical payload system, for missions of wildfire monitoring and mapping, as well as for fire fighting activities management.