Drone Swarms in Fire Suppression Activities: A Conceptual Framework

The recent huge technological development of unmanned aerial Vehicles (UAVs) can provide breakthrough means of fighting wildland fires. We propose an innovative forest firefighting system based on the use of a swarm of hundreds of UAVs able to generate a continuous flow of extinguishing liquid on the fire front, simulating the effect of rain. Automatic battery replacement and extinguishing liquid refill ensure the continuity of the action. We illustrate the validity of the approach in Mediterranean scrub first computing the critical water flow rate according to the main factors involved in the evolution of a fire, then estimating the number of linear meters of active fire front that can be extinguished depending on the number of drones available and the amount of extinguishing fluid carried. A fire propagation cellular automata model is also employed to study the evolution of the fire. Simulation results suggest that the proposed system can provide the flow of water required to fight low-intensity and limited extent fires or to support current forest firefighting techniques.

Multiple Airdrones Response System in forest firefighting

<p>M.A.R.S., Multiple Airdrones Response System, is an innovative platform for environmental monitoring. Monitoring is a prerequisite to design a land management plan to maintain its biodiversity and health, in order to optimally avoid the risk of hydrogeological instability and disaster, e.g., floods, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, wildfires. The innovative potential of the M.A.R.S. project lies mainly in the ability to manage the logistics of drone swarms and in the modularity of the platform infrastructure, which is easy to move and equipped with an integrated system for automatically replacing payloads carried by drones, such as batteries, instruments, sensors, and disposable materials.<br>The platform is composed of several subsystems: one or more landing pads, a controller for the platform operation management, a cartridge case and a hive for the storage of payloads and drones respectively. In summary, M.A.R.S. drones are served, supplied, and housed, similar to a multi-copter drone carrier.</p><p>This type of technology would launch new possible applications in contexts where the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles has not yet been hypothesized, overcoming the current limits thanks to the use of individual drones in swarm configuration and to the possibility of extending the flight time by changing the batteries.<br>Therefore, we propose and demonstrate the applicability of M.A.R.S. in forest firefighting, as fires constitute the most critical and widespread threat to Mediterranean forests. After computing the critical water flow rate according to the main time-varying factors involved in the evolution of a fire, we obtain the number of linear meters of active fire front that can be extinguished depending on the amount of fluid carried by the available drones. Finally, by means of a cellular automata model, the development and evolution of a Mediterranean scrub fire are simulated and the change of the fire area over time is estimated both without any extinguishing effort and in case of M.A.R.S. drones intervention.</p><p>Parallel to the work of scientific research, computation, and simulation, we started to build the platform and test the technologies to be implemented for the concrete development of the system. Since precision landing is of fundamental importance to the project, flight and landing tests were performed. The purpose of this in-depth study was to verify the landing error range using two hexacopter drones (DJI F550 and S900) on which two Pixhawk Flight Controllers and two different GNSS RTK modules were mounted, also comparing the results with those obtained using GPS only.</p><p>M.A.R.S. is based on an industrial patent (2016) owned by Inspire S.r.l., start-up and spin-off of the University of Genoa. The project is by its nature highly interdisciplinary, as is the professional knowledge that characterizes the members who make up the working group.<br>Forest fire research received support from Regione Liguria in the context of the European Social Fund 2014-2020 (POR-FSE). Further studies and experiments will be carried out.</p>

An Internet Platform to Monitor Plant Pathogens Spread: The Italian Case of Xylella

The numerous species of harmful organisms of tropical origin represent real phytosanitary emergencies that are bringing sectors of agri-food production to their knees, determining negative economic consequences for many farms and significant repercussions on the management of the territories on which production activities insist. For some years, a phytosanitary emergency affects tree species of the Mediterranean scrub, especially the olive trees in the south of Italy: Xylella Fastidiosa (Xf) infection. In this scenario, the paper aims to describe a proposed internet platform, developed in order to support farmers in pathogen monitoring, providing information about the crop and the cropping environment. It is able to provide information about Plant Sap Flow Density, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and Vapor Pressure Deficit. Information was represented using interactive maps able to tell the overtime parameters trend. Stakeholder, can access to the olive oil trees maps, obtaining in a single view the risk derived from the Xf contagion. The platform could benefit farmers and other stakeholders interested in analysis and territorial sustainability (decision makers, researchers, citizens and biologists).

New data about Chiropterofauna of the “Monte Pellegrino” Nature Reserve (Palermo, Italy)

This work increase the knowledge related to bat fauna present in the “Monte Pellegrino” Nature Reserve in the Palermo municipality. The acoustic sampling took place in the summer/autumn season using the D500X Bat detector in 22 samples. The identified signals were attributed to 8 species and one genus. The Taxa with the most passes in the reserve are: Tadarita teniotis followed by Pipistrellus kuhlii, Hypsugo savii (100% of Costancy), Pipistrellus pygmaeus, Pipistrellus pipistrellus, Plecotus sp., Miniopterus schreibersii and last with a single recording Rhinolophus ferrumequinum and Rhinolophus hipposideros. The dendrogram of similarity shows 3 distinct bats cenosis. Two samples present intense activity in almost all time slots and three samples, close to each, show a peak increase in the intermediate time slots for the three most abundant species. The analysis carried out on the environmental preferences shows that among the 13 Corine Land Cover (CLC) habitats, the highest number of passes is recorded in Artificial lakes (code 5122), Orchards (code 222) and Arid limestone grassland (code 3211). The Arid limestone grassland habitat (code 3211) has the highest Shannon Index value, while the Mastic stain habitat (code 32312) has the lowest diversity value. The dendrogram of similarity shows two clusters. In the first there are Gorse (code 32231), Mediterranean scrub (code 31111), Orchards (code 222), Mosaic of agricultural plots (code 242), while the second cluster contains the remaining habitats.

La fortezza e il suo giardino: uno sguardo dal mare

The fortress and its garden: a view from the seaThe Fortress was built from 1554, on the ruins of an ancient convent, at the behest of Philip of Austria, and it was completed in about 55 years under the direction of Giulio Cesare Falco, knight of the Order of Malta and Captain General against the Turks. The maine structure, called Forte a Mare, was joined with the Opera a Corno, a mighty rampart with the function of enclosure of the intermediate island, separated from the other island in 1598 by the construction of the Angevin canal: here were arranged the lodgings of the troops and garrisons. Castello and Forte, were named by the Spaniards Isla Fortalera que abre el Puerto Grande, because of its particular position to protect the port. The complex was entrusted to the Germans in 1715, then conquered by the French Revolutionaries and, in 1815, re-annexed to the Kingdom of Naples and destined to lazaretto. A period of decline follows until the end of the 19th century when Brindisi became a first class naval base and the fort became a garrison of the Royal Navy, destined, during the Great War, to recover torpedoes and detonators The recovery of the complex, starting in the 1980s, allowed the conservation of the structures but was never included in a real valorisation program. With this intervention in progress, a first visit is expected through the visit from the walkways through a circular route from the Castle to the whole Opera in Corno: the itinerary will allow you to retrace the history of the Fortress and enjoy a unique view from the high towards the sea, also through the passage in a curtain of Mediterranean scrub that has colonized the walls over the centuries, creating a veritable hanging garden on the sea. The aim is to lead the visitor to the rediscovery a forgotten place that is closely connected to the coastal landscape, for which it is a privileged point of view also in relation to the city and the port.

Being Homo Radix // Ser Homo Radix

Losing oneself in the singing silence of old-growth forests and being reborn at the age of 30 as Homo Radix, Root Man: words can still change your life, offer a profound, formerly absent meaning. Tiziano Fratus encountered his first thousand-year-old sequoias in Big Sur, and from that point perceived the call of the voices of great trees. He began to cross landscapes in search of new fathers and new mothers. He plumbed the depths of Californian parks and the Italian, French, Swiss, and Austrian Alps; he immersed himself in the Mediterranean scrub. In botanical gardens, in the parks of historical homes, in cities and in the vast countryside, he met exotic old-growth trees that tell stories of other continents. He made his way to Singapore, Sweden, Spain, and returned to a height of 3000-3900 meters to observe the worn-out wood of the oldest conifers on the planet: more than 5000 years of living matter, again in California, in the White Mountains. He began to write books and to accompany people on journeys to meet the patriarchs of the planet. He became a faithful disciple of the verb “arborescere,” to make oneself a tree, coined by Pliny the Elder 2000 years ago. Resumen Perderse uno mismo en el silencio cantor de los bosques de árboles antiguos y renacer a la edad de 30 como Homo Radix, Hombre Raíz: las palabras aún pueden cambiar tu vida, ofrecer un profundo significado antes ausente. Tiziano Fratus encontró sus primeras secuoyas milenarias en Big Sur, y desde ese punto percibió la llamada de las voces de los grandes árboles. Empezó a cruzar paisajes en busca de nuevos padres y nuevas madres. Exploró las profundidades de los parques californianos y los Alpes italianos, franceses, suizos y austríacos; se sumergió en los arbustos mediterráneos. En los jardines botánicos, en los parques de hogares históricos, en las ciudades y en la amplia campiña, conoció exóticos árboles antiguos que cuentan historias de otros continentes. Viajó a Singapur, Suecia, España, y volvió a una altura de 3000-3900 metros para observar la exhausta madera de las coníferas más antiguas del planeta: más de 5000 años de materia orgánica, de nuevo en California, en las Montañas Blancas. Empezó a escribir libros y a acompañar a la gente en viajes para conocer a los patriarcas del planeta. Se convirtió en un fiel discípulo del verbo “arborescere”, hacerse árbol, acuñado por Plinio el Viejo hace 2000 años.