SENSORS: Collaborative Research: Self-configuring In Situ Wireless Sensor Networks For Prescribed Fire Management

“传感器：协作研究：用于规定的火灾管理的Situ无线传感器网络的自我配置”摘要：无线传感器网络提供了令人兴奋的新技术，有可能彻底改变森林和公共土地火灾管理的关键过程。目前，野地火灾管理受到收集的天气数据粗粒度的限制，这些数据是通过消防员通过分散在森林中的稀疏偏远气象站佩戴的便携式腰带气象包接收到的。由于天气是影响火灾行为和消防员安全的最关键因素，因此火灾天气传感器网络的部署为细粒度天气数据提供了前景，可以极大地提高消防管理过程中的决策和安全。本项目致力于解决在设计、部署和测试自行配置的无线火灾天气传感器网络以支持指定火灾燃烧的火灾管理方面的研究挑战。在崎岖的地形和树木覆盖下的可靠性、能源效率和连通性是关键挑战。传感器节点的实时访问、定位和动态重新编程等人机接口要求增加了问题的复杂性。具体的研究目标包括：设计和评估低维护、自适应和自动自组织的自配置无线系统的网络路由；分析容错技术，如多径路由，以便于消防员在崎岖地形中持续访问现场传感器读数；通过发射功率控制、时间同步占空比和能量收集技术(如太阳能)测试持续的低功率操作；以及开发支持现场传感器节点远程动态重新编程的软件。部署和测试序列从一系列实验室和校园实验进展到合作实验森林的规定火灾。这项研究项目的目标是在更广泛的社会影响方面改善规定的野地火灾管理的决策和安全性，开发工具以实现对崎岖地形的实时火灾监测，生成科学数据集以改进对野地火灾行为的预测，将研究成果整合到大学课程中，并通过网络发布研究成果来增加公众对野地火灾行为的了解。这项研究工作源于科罗拉多大学博尔德分校和蒙大拿大学之间的合作。该小组在计算机科学、电气工程、林业和消防情报方面的集体专业知识在现实世界中促进了协作、多学科研究的精神，提高了学生和教职员工的创造力。

Abstract for "SENSORS: Collaborative Research: Self-configuring In SituWireless Sensor Networks For Prescribed Fire Management":Wireless sensor networks offer exciting new technology with thepotential to revolutionize the critical process of fire management inforests and public lands. At present, wildland fire management islimited by the coarse granularity of the collected weather datareceived through the portable belt weather kits worn by firefightersor through the sparsely scattered remote weather stations placed inforests. Since weather is the most critical factor affecting firebehavior and firefighter safety, then the deployment of fire weathersensor networks offers the prospect of fine-granularity weather datathat can vastly improve decision-making and safety in the fire managementprocess.This project focuses on solving the research challenges in designing,deploying, and testing a self-configuring wireless fire weather sensornetwork to support fire management in prescribed fire burns.Reliability, energy efficiency, and connectivity in rugged terrain andtree cover pose key challenges. Human interface requirements likereal-time access, localization, and dynamic reprogramming of sensornodes add complexity to the problem. Specific research objectivesinclude: design and evaluation of self-configuring wireless systemsthat are low maintenance, adaptive and automatically self-organizingin terms of their network routing; analysis of fault toleranttechniques like multipath routing to facilitate persistent firefighteraccess to in situ sensor readings in rugged terrain; testing ofsustained low power operation through transmit power control,time-synchronized duty cycles, and energy harvesting techniques suchas solar power; and development of software that supports remotedynamic reprogramming of in situ sensor nodes. The deployment andtesting sequence progresses from a series of laboratory and on-campusexperiments to a prescribed fire at a partner experimental forest.The goals of this research project in terms of broader societal impactinclude the improvement of decision-making and safety in themanagement of prescribed wildland fires, the development of tools toenable real-time fire monitoring in rugged terrain, the generation ofscientific datasets to improve forecasting of wildland fire behavior,the integration of research results into the curricula of universitycourses, and increased public understanding of fire behavior inwildlands through the release of research results via the Web. Thisresearch effort arises from a partnership between the University ofColorado at Boulder and the University of Montana. The group'scollective expertise in computer science, electrical engineering,forestry, and fire intelligence promotes the spirit of collaborative,multidisciplinary research in a real-world setting, enhancing thecreativity of students and faculty alike.