Infrasonic Wildfire Detector

The goal of the project is to create a MESH Network of Infrasonic Wildfire Sensors.

=Problem Definition= Wildfires ravage through the forests and destroy ecosystems and economies, yet still, our best means of detection is by seeing and smelling smoke. The ability to provide a signal to firefighting services when the fire is still small could save countless homes and wilderness areas. In order to modernize this detection process, we propose a device that uses infrasonic detection and signal processing to detect wildfires. Our aim is to set up a mesh network of smart nodes and dumb nodes that can detect infrasound waves (0 – 20 Hz) and communicate this information wirelessly. This technology has the potential to drastically improve our ability to mitigate wildfires by allowing us to detect the problem sooner.

Background

 * Wildfires produce a sound signature in the infrasonic range.
 * Detecting sound in that frequency indicates the presence of a wildfire.
 * Cheap communication electronics has made it possible to create a distributed sensing network.
 * Affordable and resilient sensors for infrasound are now a possibility.

Deliverables
At the end of the school, we produced one final assembled device. That device is pictured to the left. We were able to fit the TTGO T-Beam board, the PCB, and the shock absorbers inside the enclosure. We did have two other enclosures, but those are not transparent like the one pictured. If you look to the right an image of the final Mesh Visualization Tool is available. The tool was able to listen for broadcast UDP messages and parse them out. It then was able to plot the battery discharge current, battery voltage, node(s) signal strengths, and a basic network map. For the tool to work both the local PC and smart node must be connected to the same WiFi network.

Specifications

 * Detect infrasonic sound waves.
 * Creates a mesh network of similar devices to transmit fire status.
 * Has a rugged enclosure capable of surviving drops and impacts, as well as surviving the elements.

Project Learning

 * Fire Infrasound - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6929188/
 * LoRa Range and Reliability - https://medium.com/home-wireless/testing-lora-radios-with-the-limesdr-mini-part-2-37fa481217ff
 * LoRa Mesh Example - https://nootropicdesign.com/projectlab/2018/10/20/lora-mesh-networking/
 * Simple LoRa Library - https://github.com/sandeepmistry/arduino-LoRa
 * RadioHead Mesh Networking Library - https://www.airspayce.com/mikem/arduino/RadioHead/
 * Shock Absorber Inspiration - https://www.fabbaloo.com/blog/2020/6/15/design-of-the-week-ttgo-t-beam-shock-resistant-enclosure
 * KiCAD Tutorials - https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/beginners-guide-to-kicad
 * KiCAD Resources - https://www.kicad.org/help/learning-resources/

Final Design
In Progress.













Additional Documentation
Project Schedule



Meeting Minutes



Presentations



Client Interview



Hardware Datasheets & Description Sheets