[ music ]
>> The following story
is fictional.
Its intent is to portray
a future wildland
firefighting system
that uses AI trained in
wildland firefighting,
and fast response drones
to augment the skills
of humans and the equipment
and tactics currently in use.
Please send your comments
to david.fuller@nasa.gov.
[ music ]
A July morning
in Colorado's White River
National Forest
dawns hot and dry.
At oh-8-47 Mountain,
a GOES satellite
detects a heat signature
in the area.
Within seconds,
the data reaches
the U.S. Forest Service's
Regional Operations Center,
where the Fire Responder
AI System flags it as
a wildland fire ignition.
The nearest quick response drone
is at Eagle County
Regional Airport's
fire operations hangar.
The system dispatches a drone,
equipped with its own AI
specifically trained to
perform the initial size-up.
It has the latest
topo maps onboard,
along with current
and forecasted weather
and current moisture density
in the area.
At the same time,
USFS Ranger David Fuller
receives the alert
on his tablet,
and begins driving to
the nearest access point,
an hour's hike from
the suspected fire.
The Fire Responder AI System
shows him the best route
to get there.
En route, the drone creates
a communications link
to the ground station
at Eagle County Airport.
This network will become
the local tactical network
used by all parties for
the Common Operating Picture,
or COP, maintaining
situation awareness
for the response team.
By oh-900, the drone arrives
on scene and begins
to orbit the fire.
Its thermal camera
maps the fire's perimeter,
while the AI System
processes data from nearby
Remote Automated
Weather Stations.
92 degrees Fahrenheit,
12% moisture density,
and 15 to 20 mile-per-hour
wind gusts through
dead, standing trees.
The drone AI begins
evaluating threats,
escape routes, safety zones,
and ingress/egress
vulnerabilities
for ground assets.
This information is uploaded
to the Denver Dispatch Center,
and incorporated into
the COP virtual space.
The COP is made available
to all assets assigned
to the incident.
At the Dispatch Center,
Incident Commander
Maria Rodriguez monitors
the emerging situation.
The Denver AI merges
the drone's live data
of the fire spread,
and displays on Maria's monitor
its predicted advance
up a steep gulch
filled with the dead,
standing timber.
She accesses
a resource dashboard.
The AI also displays
all available resources:
three Type One helicopters
at nearby bases,
two air tankers
working a Wyoming fire
but available for diversion,
and four hotshot crews
within two hours' drive time.
Maria recognizes
the need for air support,
and assigns an
Air Tactical Group Supervisor,
or ATGS, to coordinate flights
into the fire zone.
She selects the air resources,
and the AI notifies them
to launch.
The drone circles overhead,
maintaining the network
for the emerging response.
At oh-9:45, the first
engines and crews arrive,
their mobile devices
automatically joining
the network.
Each device displays the COP,
fire location,
spread prediction,
escape routes, and safety zones.
The ATGS arrives on scene
and begins orbiting the fire.
Their workstation automatically
joins the network,
and exchanges information
with the Incident Commander
and ground teams.
On the ATGS workstation
is a list of incoming assets,
their status, and ETA.
The ATGS begins coordinating
with the ground teams.
The ground crew chiefs
use their handheld tablets
to mark where drops are needed,
share this information
with the ATGS over the network,
and confirm by voice.
The ATGS assigns targets
to the air tankers
via the network.
Flight paths to targets,
drop points,
and locations of
nearby ground teams are then
sent to the air tankers,
where the pilots can
see the information
in their Head Up Display.
Drones and AI technology
trained in wildland firefighting
can monitor many data streams
and flag increasing
risk indicators.
These decision support tools
can help wildland firefighters
make safe, effective
decisions quickly.
Drones and AI,
utilizing a local
tactical network,
can share this information
to the entire response team,
building and maintaining
the common operating picture
in realtime.
As aerial and ground assets
enter the area,
they automatically
join the network.
Their ID, position,
intent, capabilities,
and resources are integrated
into the COP, and made available
to all responders.
The ATGS, coordinating
with the IC and ground teams,
can designate drop points,
which are shared in the COP.
The air tanker pilots
see approach routes
and drop points in their HUD.
This future
Concept of Operations
can become reality,
with NASA's Advanced
Capabilities for Emergency
Response Operations project,
ACERO.
[ music ]