Researchers at the University of Western Australia are developing a new touchscreen device to help firefighters predict where and when a bushfire will spread.
Development of the device by the university’s School of Computer Science and Software Engineering involves modifying bushfire simulation software Australis into a high-end tablet to provide accurate predictions of fire behaviour more rapidly than current methods.
Professor George Milne said the technology could protect lives, homes, crops and livestock in Western Australia’s bushfire prone areas.
“Having the Australis fire prediction technology in the cab of a fire truck or a farmer’s ute will enable first-responders to get the best information necessary to create appropriate firefighting and evacuation strategies.
{loadpositon peter}“This can happen in the very early stages of a bushfire, when time-critical responses are required.”
Professor Milne says the touchscreen device would complement the Aurora system used by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) which currently runs the simulator from one central location for all fires in WA.
“On a day where there are several bushfires across the state, it may take too long to predict each individual fire’s progress using a single system in the central headquarters.”
“The advantage to local brigades with access to this technology is that it will give them location-specific information about which communities are at risk and which need to be evacuated.”
The Australis system analyses data including geographical topography, vegetation types, WA bushfire-prone hotspots, time since last burn, rate of spread, fuel accumulation and forecasted weather.
The researchers say that, in a matter of minutes, and without internet connectivity, the system can accurately predict where the fire could be from 30 minutes to 24 hours into the future.
According to Professor Milne, Western Australia is unique – it has bushfires burning every day of the year, from the north during the winter dry to the south in summer.
“This technology could significantly minimise the impact of bushfires, the loss of lives and homes, by predicting the direction, intensity and rate of bushfire spread in real time,” he said.
Professor Milne says funding is still required to get the technology off the ground and made available to local bushfire brigades.
The University of Western Australia, along with the WA DFES, Department of Parks and Wildlife and Landgate, has an application for Royalty for Regions funding under consideration by the WA State Government.