Dryad to start pilot project with solar-powered wildfire sensors in California

Eberswalde, Germany-based startup Dryad Networks GmbH, a provider of sensor networks for monitoring forest areas, reports it has agreed to a pilot project with CAL FIRE (California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection). According to the agreement, 400 of the Dryad sensors, powered by solar cells, will be tested in a pilot project in the Jackson Demonstration State Forest. Dryad also expects demand to be high due to the devastating wildfires in the U.S. last year, so after selling 10,000 of its sensors in 2022, it plans to expand production to 230,000 annually this year.
The Dryad sensors enable the creation of large-scale monitoring networks in forest areas, which can be used primarily – but not only – for »ultra-early« detection of fires. Unlike monitoring by observers, cameras or satellites, which can only sound the alarm when smoke is visible above the tree canopy, the sensors detect a fire in its early stages and also allow precise location. This allows the fire to be fought earlier and thus more effectively.
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