Robotic aircraft could soon be swooping over forest fires to map their size and ferocity. So say engineers at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in Idaho Falls, who recently demonstrated a new breed of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to the US Forest Service in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Scott Bauer of INL says the planes could use infrared images coupled with GPS readings to map the blaze for firefighters. The $20,000 propeller-driven UAVs have a wingspan of just 3.5 metres but can carry 14 kilograms of video cameras, infrared cameras and radio transceivers. Built from a cheap carbon-and-fibreglass composite, they…
