Fighting Wildfires with Sensors

Company sensor robots were once again deployed at a Northern California prescribed burn event to gather data and perform tests to support company efforts in the development of a solution for the early detection of an emergent wildfire. 

Squishy Robotics interns Oliver Parkin and Jiaqi (Harold) Lian and COO Deniz Dogruer collected atmopheric data and observed fire crews during a burn event, which was held June 23 in Marin County and run by F.I.R.E. Foundry and local fire departments.

“Our team members always learn so much when we get to observe our robots in the field,” said Dogruer, who brought sensor robots to a similar emergent wildfire training last year. “We are grateful for these opportunities to experiment with new sensors and to work with responders so close to the fire lines. In addition to gathering data that will help with our R&D efforts, such fire training events let company engineers experience constantly changing disaster scenarios. That experience is invaluable and helps Squishy Robotics to better engineer, adapt, and improve our technologies to meet the many challenges of emergency response.”

A recent newsletter article published by UC Berkeley Engineering provides more background on F.I.R.E. Foundry’s history and mission. The article describes how the use and testing of new technologies, including Squishy Robotics’ sensor robots, are part of the equity-centered training and educational program’s mission to combat wildfires while increasing diversity in the fire service.