Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/22

Outputs
Target Audience:Intellisense has reached out to and had discussions with multiple end-users of the existing Remote Automatic Weather Station (RAWS) fire weather monitoring equipment to understand existing limitations and potential market gaps that Intellisense's Fire Weather Observation Sensor (FWOS) equipment can fill. These end-user groups include the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). General feedback from all groups complimented the easy-to-use software interface and simple setup of the FWOS system but indicated that existing fire monitoring requirements are based on the sampling scheme and accuracy provided by the existing RAWS equipment. Due to the solar-powered, compact nature of the FWOS device, these are different on the FWOS system when compared to the legacy RAWS technology. These potential stakeholders identified use cases where RAWS would be cumbersome to deploy or where rapid measurement capability is required in the dynamic wildland fire environment. Intellisense will remain in contact with these key stakeholders to identify methods to modify or update existing requirements or develop new requirements for rapidly deployable sensors as a result of the positive feedback from their field testing of the FWOS system. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Yes, Intellisense has been actively engaged with multiple potential end-users including Cal Fire, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the United States Air Force, USDA, and the United States Forest Service. In addition, successful testing of the FWOS technology is marketed on our website ("Intellisense Helps Combat Wildfires in Yosemite National Park" (intellisenseinc.com)) and on social media platforms including LinkedIn. In addition, Intellisense is attending the Meteorological Technology World Expo North America in Chicago, IL from 2022 August 31 - September 01, 2022 where the FWOS technology will be presented aside Intellisense's other weather sensor offerings to interested stakeholders. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?All goals for this Phase II development effort have been achieved and the contract has ended.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? During this Phase II project, all scheduled tasks and milestones were successfully completed through the following accomplishments: Relationships were established with fire weather professionals from various governmental organizations and commercial companies. Based on feedback from the fire weather professionals, the FWOS architecture was reevaluated, and the Phase II FWOS system design was established. Successful design and integration of an industry standard fuel moisture sensor, soil moisture sensor, and two different industry standard high-accuracy tipping buckets. Integrating SDI-12 functionality to enable the potential to integrate future sensors. Design and integration of the Particulate Matter (1 micron, 1.5 micron, and 10 micron) within the FWOS module. Design and integration of a silicon-based solar radiation detector within the FWOS module. Design, integration, and testing of the FWOS 360-degree IR camera. Completion of custom electronics and system firmware to integrate all of the individual sensors and allow the FWOS to send the data over Iridium or cellular communications. Design, fabrication, and integration of the first FWOS prototype assembly. Completion of initial laboratory and real-world testing with the first FWOS prototype, resulting in a refined prototype design ready for field deployment. Refinement of the software platform for datalogging capability and user interface improvements. Demonstrated performance through extended field testing including deployment to two actual wildland fires in 2022. Conducted a study of the commercialization potential of the FWOS technology through market analysis. Multiple potential stakeholders and end-users were engaged throughout development, and feedback was solicited in preparation for transition of the FWOS into a fully realized product. The company began marketing the technology on its website: Intellisense Helps Combat Wildfires in Yosemite National Park (intellisenseinc.com). In addition, Intellisense scoped the required level of effort for transition to production and is actively seeking additional funding sources for transition to a fully realized product. These Phase II technical achievements resulted in a fully integrated, field-validated functional prototype at a fraction of the size and cost of legacy fire weather sensors while offering greater sensing flexibility through configurable soil or fuel moisture sensors and additional sensing capability with on-board 360-degree imaging, particulate monitoring, and atmospheric visibility.

Publications

Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22

Outputs
Target Audience:Intellisense has reached out to and had discussions with multiple end-users of the existing Remote Automatic Weather Station (RAWS) fire weather monitoring equipment to understand existing limitations and potential market gaps that Intellisense's Fire Weather Observation Sensor (FWOS) equipment can fill. These end-user groups include the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). General feedback from all groups complimented the easy-to-use software interface and simple setup of the FWOS system but indicated that existing fire monitoring requirements are based on the sampling scheme and accuracy provided by the existing RAWS equipment. Due to the solar-powered, compact nature of the FWOS device, these are different on the FWOS system when compared to the legacy RAWS technology. These potential stakeholders identified use cases where RAWS would be cumbersome to deploy or where rapid measurement capability is required in the dynamic wildland fire environment. Intellisense will remain in contact with these key stakeholders to identify methods to modify or update existing requirements or develop new requirements for rapidly deployable sensors as a result of the positive feedback from their field testing of the FWOS system. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Yes, Intellisense has been actively engaged with multiple potential end-users including Cal Fire, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the United States Air Force, USDA, and the United States Forest Service. In addition, successful testing of the FWOS technology is marketed on our website ("Intellisense Helps Combat Wildfires in Yosemite National Park" (intellisenseinc.com)) and on social media platforms including LinkedIn. In addition, Intellisense is attending the Meteorological Technology World Expo North America in Chicago, IL from August 31, 2022- September 01, 2022 where the FWOS technology will be presented aside Intellisense's other weather sensor offerings to interested stakeholders. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?All goals for this Phase II development effort have been achieved and the contract has ended.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? During this Phase II project, all scheduled tasks and milestones were successfully completed through the following accomplishments: Relationships were established with fire weather professionals from various governmental organizations and commercial companies. Based on feedback from the fire weather professionals, the FWOS architecture was reevaluated, and the Phase II FWOS system design was established. Successful design and integration of an industry standard fuel moisture sensor, soil moisture sensor, and two different industry standard high-accuracy tipping buckets. Integrating SDI-12 functionality to enable the potential to integrate future sensors. Design and integration of the Particulate Matter (1 micron, 1.5 micron, and 10 micron) within the FWOS module. Design and integration of a silicon-based solar radiation detector within the FWOS module. Design, integration, and testing of the FWOS 360-degree IR camera. Completion of custom electronics and system firmware to integrate all of the individual sensors and allow the FWOS to send the data over Iridium or cellular communications. Design, fabrication, and integration of the first FWOS prototype assembly. Completion of initial laboratory and real-world testing with the first FWOS prototype, resulting in a refined prototype design ready for field deployment. Refinement of the software platform for datalogging capability and user interface improvements. Demonstrated performance through extended field testing including deployment to two actual wildland fires in 2022. Conducted a study of the commercialization potential of the FWOS technology through market analysis. Multiple potential stakeholders and end-users were engaged throughout development, and feedback was solicited in preparation for transition of the FWOS into a fully realized product. The company began marketing the technology on its website: Intellisense Helps Combat Wildfires in Yosemite National Park (intellisenseinc.com). In addition, Intellisense scoped the required level of effort for transition to production and is actively seeking additional funding sources for transition to a fully realized product. These Phase II technical achievements resulted in a fully integrated, field-validated functional prototype at a fraction of the size and cost of legacy fire weather sensors while offering greater sensing flexibility through configurable soil or fuel moisture sensors and additional sensing capability with on-board 360-degree imaging, particulate monitoring, and atmospheric visibility.

Publications

Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21

Outputs
Target Audience:During this reporting period, which spanned 9/1/20 to 7/13/20 and constitutes the first half of the Phase II development, various target audiences were reached, and the Fire Weather Observational System (FWOS) architecture was refined as the current needs of the fire weather community were evaluated. Fire weather professionals from organizations including but not limited to the USDA, NOAA, EPA, BLM, National Park Service, CAL FIRE, and the Western Regional Climate Center provided feedback for the features they viewed as most critical for the FWOS and provided their vision for the various use cases that would provide the most value for the fire weather community. Intellisense also provided a Micro Weather Station (MWS) to CAL FIRE and the National Interagency Fire Center to evaluate and compare to the existing Remote Automated Weather Station (RAWS), which is the current standard in measuring fire-related weather. FWOS leverages much of the existing MWS's weather station technology, so an early evaluation allowed for critical feedback in developing the FWOS. Changes/Problems:During this reporting period, Intellisense noticed that key electronics components began showing on backorder during this phase of the project, and responded by purchasing these components to allow for all of the expected FWOS prototypes to be built throughout the rest of the project. Purchasing all of the active components ensures that there will not be any project delays caused by the shortage of electronic components. In addition, lab testing showed that the selected IR camera was unable to distinguish between a human and a flame beyond a specific distance dependent on the size of the flame and the distance of both the flame and the human from the camera, which poses a significant challenge for flame detection. Outdoor testing showed similar results, with reflections of sunlight from bodies of water, glass, or metal completely washing out the IR camera image, preventing reliable flame detection. Other IR camera technologies were investigated in order to determine the next best possible path forward. As discussed and approved by the USDA PM, the team has documented these findings to utilize on future development efforts and successfully closed out this task on the contract in order to focus on the FWOS sensors and features that provide higher value to the system as determined by the fire weather professionals. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Intellisense has been actively reaching out to fire weather professionals from the USDA, NOAA, EPA, BLM, National Park Service, CAL FIRE, and the Western Regional Climate Center by hosting conference calls and communicating over email. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period, Intellisense will continue working on Objectives 3 and 4, as well as the overarching project goal, by using the results from the lab and field testing of the first FWOS prototype to revise, if necessary, the FWOS prototype design before fabricating a number of FWOS prototypes to be sent to fire weather professionals at multiple organizations for evaluation. The final configuration of this prototype will be evaluated and released in Intellisense's configuration management tool to initiate the first steps toward transitioning the FWOS to a full product design.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? During this reporting period, by completing objectives 1 and 2 and making progress on objectives 3 and 4, Intellisense made significant progress toward meeting the overarching goal of providing a novel technology that facilitates detection and management of wildfires on forest lands. Intellisense accomplished objective 1 by establishing the key design and functional requirements for the project after reaching out to fire weather professionals from the USDA, NOAA, EPA, BLM, National Park Service, CAL FIRE, and the Western Regional Climate Center. After establishing the system requirements, Intellisense accomplished the second objective by developing a compact sensor module consisting of a custom solar radiation sensor and a PM2.5 sensor with custom electronics designed to communicate with the external fuel and soil moisture sensors. A custom circuit card assembly (CCA) and a custom housing were developed to integrate directly with the MWS to create an assembled FWOS sensor. Once the custom module is installed within an MWS unit, the FWOS will be able to report ambient temperature, pressure, humidity, wind speed, wind direction, visibility, solar radiation, PM2.5, and provide 360-degree panoramic imagery--all in a lightweight and portable package. In addition, a compact external thermal IR camera for fire detection has been designed and tested. As part of Objective 3, the first FWOS prototype sensor was fabricated and began undergoing extensive lab testing, including complete sensor data ingestion and visual display in Intellisense's web-based sensor portal. This testing is ongoing in accordance with the project schedule, which is line with the contract's delivery schedule. Finally, as part of the fourth objective, Intellisense has partnered with Forest Technology Systems to define the market for the FWOS and obtain feedback from customers.

Publications