Helicopter maker Sikorsky has demonstrated its autonomous flight technology for fighting wildfires.
During a test carried out at the company’s Stratford headquarters, a Black Hawk helicopter, controlled remotely via a tablet computer, was able to take off, identify the location and size of a fire and accurately drop water to suppress the flames.
Sikorsky teamed on the demonstration with Rain, a company that makes aerial wildfire containment technology. Its software adapts existing military and civil autonomous aircraft to perceive and suppress wildfires.
Representatives from NASA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and two California-based fire departments witnessed the demonstration.
“With Rain’s wildfire mission software loaded onto the aircraft and a tablet, wildland firefighters in the field could deploy..helicopters to search and attack wildfires before they spread out of control,” said Igor Cherepinsky, director of Sikorsky Innovations.
“Wildfires cost the United States over $390 billion annually, and multiple risk factors are set to grow up to 30% by 2030,” said Rain CEO Maxwell Brodie. “We look forward to demonstrating to lawmakers how autonomous aircraft can stop fires from breaking out, or continue the fight into the night, and in turbulent and smoky conditions, where crewed aircraft wouldn’t venture.”
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