The research, initiated by both universities and scheduled to end in 2024, is being developed within the "Integrated Terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial Wireless Networks" project of the Chair promoted by Fractus, which aims to enhance technology transfer and research in 6G wireless communication systems.

The principal investigators are Dr. Angel Lozano, director of the Wireless & Secure Communications research group at the Department of Information and Communication Technologies (DTIC) of Pompeu Fabra University and the Fractus-UPF Chair; and Dr. Hamid Jafarkhani, professor of electronic engineering and computer science at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). Dr. Carles Diaz, a researcher in electronic engineering and computer science at UCI, is also participating in the research, among other collaborators. The project is also supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation and a grant from the ICREA Academia program.

Overcoming the technical limitations of current drones
The main challenge of the research is to automate drone flight paths while they communicate with the command and control center and with firefighters working on the ground. Specifically, the team is working to optimize the algorithms that determine the drones' trajectory and automatic deployment.

In this regard, Dr. Lozano (UPF) explains: "We are investigating how to overcome some of the current technical limitations of drones related to their energy consumption and battery or recharging capacity, or looking for mechanisms that prevent them from colliding with other objects or suffering interference with other communication signals.".

This research also aims to facilitate the use of drones to provide information on the initial location of the fire and other preventative data, such as inhabited areas or nearby infrastructure closest to the fire's origin.


Smart drones in a context of climate change with increased fire risk
The research aims to provide technological solutions to address the growing risk of wildfires in the current context of climate change. In California, 2020 saw a record number of hectares burned, exceeding 800,000 hectares according to official data, as a result of that summer's heat wave.

In Spain, the impact of wildfires has intensified this year, even before the summer season. Between January and May 2023, 47,785 hectares burned in forest fires, compared to 16,494 hectares during the same period in 2022, according to the Ministry for Ecological Transition. The largest fires occurred in the provinces of Cáceres, Asturias, Castellón, and Lugo. Catalonia, for the moment, has not followed the upward trend seen across the country, although it did experience a sharp increase in hectares burned in 2022 (5,834.66 hectares), 141% more than in 2021, according to data from the Catalan government.

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