A project known as SIERRA (Surveillance for Intelligent Emergency Response Robotic Aircraft) integrates small, unmanned aircraft with global positioning systems, environmental data, video and fire-prediction software to give real-time information about where a fire is burning, and where it is moving.
To gain the confidence of working firefighters, the graduate student who serves as SIERRA team leader, Robert Charvat, participated in firefighter training in West Virginia. The SIERRA system is built around a small, unmanned aerial vehicle from Marcus UAV Inc. The five-pound vehicle has a 54-inch wingspan and the ability to fly faster than 35 miles per hour to altitudes of 10,000 feet on flights lasting approximately an hour. While in the air, the vehicle can transmit video while it navigates using GPS.
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