I-Corps: Zero-power Wireless Flame Detector for Ubiquitous Fire Monitoring

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The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a flame detection technology that consumes near zero power in standby mode, hence enabling the implementation of wireless fire sensor networks with greatly reduced cost for ubiquitous fire monitoring. A flame detector can often respond more accurately and faster than a smoke or heat detector, since its targeting indicator is more exclusive to fires and it does not experience the delayed detection time. The drawbacks of existing flame detector technologies include high power consumption, high manufacturing cost, and bulky form factor. These drawbacks prevent current flame detectors from being widely adopted in the market. Instead, the proposed miniaturized battery-powered wireless flame detectors may last up to 10 years without charging and be easily retrofitted to address multiple deployment needs. The new detectors may provide a primary safety measure for fire monitoring in broader commercial market sectors such as construction sites, waste facilities, warehouses and forests. The project may have an immediate impact on the disruptive fire-related accidents such as 2019-20 Australian bushfire and Notre Dame Cathedral fire, saving hundreds of lives and preventing billions of dollars in asset losses worldwide. This I-Corps project is based on the development of micromechanical flame detectors that consume near-zero power in standby mode until awakened by the specific infrared signature emitted by a flame. Currently, no existing technology could enable the implementation of large-scale wireless fire sensor networks due to the prohibitive cost associated with ownership, installation and maintenance. The fundamental technical challenge lies in the continuous power consumption of state-of-the-art sensor technologies. Commercially available sensors rely on active electronics to detect and discriminate signals of interest. Therefore, current flame detectors consume power continuously to monitor the environment even when there is no relevant data to be detected, which results in a short battery lifetime (a few months). The proposed flame detector relies on the recently developed, zero-power digitizing infrared sensors that can selectively harvest the energy from specific infrared signatures emitted from a warm object to operate without using any electrical power. The fire sensor market requires products to have certificated performance and to meet different standards and regulations. The goal of is to pinpoint customers’ needs and develop a commercialization path to deliver products meeting all requirements for a beachhead market.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.