Sensor-Based Satellite IoT for Early Wildfire Detection

Frequent and severe wildfires have been observed lately on a global scale. Wildfires not only threaten lives and properties, but also pose negative environmental impacts that transcend national boundaries (e.g., greenhouse gas emission and global warming). Thus, early wildfire detection with timely feedback is much needed. We propose to use the emerging beyond fifth-generation (B5G) and sixth-generation (6G) satellite Internet of Things (IoT) communication technology to enable massive sensor deployment for wildfire detection. We propose wildfire and carbon emission models that take into account real environmental data including wind speed, soil wetness, and biomass, to simulate the fire spreading process and quantify the fire burning areas, carbon emissions, and economical benefits of the proposed system against the backdrop of recent California wildfires. We also conduct a satellite IoT feasibility check by analyzing the satellite link budget. Future research directions to further illustrate the promise of the proposed system are discussed.