With SA in the grip of the veld fire season, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has upgraded its Advanced Fire Information System (AFIS).
AFIS is a satellite-based fire information tool that delivers locations of active fires in near-real time over southern and eastern Africa.
The CSIR's expertise in remote sensing, in collaboration with Eskom, resulted in the development of this unique fire detection system that makes use of sensors on-board orbiting and geostationary satellites.
The application of satellite remote sensing, coupled with cellphone technology for distributing alert messages or SMSes, has been a first of its kind in the world.
In a statement, the CSIR said the AFIS II user interface or viewer puts products into the hands of users.
“With all the features and more of the first version, AFIS II is more reliable, easier to manage and simpler to use”.
The research institute adds that the system uses data that is available within 10 minutes after the satellite passes overhead.
It adds that for example, Eskom receives alerts whenever fires burn within one kilometre of their transmission lines, which may cause line faults.
Commenting on the new features that make AFIS II an invaluable tool to be harnessed in the protection of human life, the built environment and national resources, researcher Philip Frost notes:
“Through enhancements to the system, we have made it possible for users to access more data sources through advanced query functions. The system can provide the active fire location data and it is also possible to get burnt area estimates from the satellite images.”
He also notes that by integrating information on wind speed and direction from 130 automated weather stations every hour, AFIS II is able to provide fire danger estimates.
Describing the AFIS II, Frost says it is open source-compliant (using free and open source software), making it interoperable, robust and easy to customise.
Share