Larger assistance may soon be available to fire districts who have already adopted small drones to combat wildfires.
Instead of the tiny quadcopters that presently rule the consumer drone market, a number of businesses are creating a new generation of autonomous aerial vehicles that resemble airplanes more. The businesses are hoping that technological advancements would enable them to put out wildfires, sometimes even before they begin.
As historically destructive flames blaze in Los Angeles, their efforts are gaining new urgency, but they may encounter logistical and regulatory obstacles before they can fully begin.
One of the 29 teams chosen to compete in a $11 million challenge organized by XPRIZE, a nonprofit organization that aims to promote technical advancement, is Windracers, a firm based in the United Kingdom that is creating drones for combating fires. With a 30-foot wingspan, the company’s drones—which have already been used to transport cargo in Ukraine—can operate in swarms to drop flame suppressants and monitor vast areas of land for wildfires.
Last August, a U.K. fire agency tested Windracers drones and praised how quickly they responded. The drones were designed by the corporation to put out a fire in ten minutes or less, before it gets out of hand. Response times using current techniques can reach hours.
According to Jonathan Waterford, the head of Windracers’ design team, there is a discernible difference in the magnitude of the fire that results from that.