Wildfire Sensor guidelines

The Wildfire Sensor must be mounted correctly to ensure its solar panel has sufficient illumination to charge it superconductors and to reliably connect to Mesh Gateways.

Warnings

Practice safety first

Keep safety foremost when attaching sensors to trees. Make sure the ladder is stable when leaned against the tree, especially when leaned against thinner trees. Have the second person hold it to stabilize it while climbing the ladder.

Let the sensor calibrate after installation

After a sensor has been deployed and calibrated, do not interact with the sensor as this may cause errors with sensor values and could reset the sensor calibration.

AFTER SENSORS HAVE BEEN DEPLOYED, CALIBRATED AND SETTLED, DO NOT INTERACT WITH THE SENSORS IN ANY WAY.

Select a healthy tree

When locating a tree on which to install a sensor, look for indications that the tree may be in poor health. Also ensure the tree is not planned to be cut down or in any way unlikely to survive for the duration of the lifetime of a sensor. Find another tree within the designated radius (20m) of the planned location.

Average time to install a sensor

The average time to install sensors is about a half-hour per sensor. This includes finding the tree, setting up the ladder, scanning the QR Code, installing the sensor, then heading to the next deployment location.

Plan for a day's device deployment. Ensure you have brought sufficient sensors, treenails, spacers (and garden wire, if required) for the day's installation plans.

Deployment overview

• Ensure correct range

  • 1 km to nearest Mesh Gateway: Ensure a Mesh Gateway is within range, which is no further than 1 km from the Wildfire Sensor.

• Sensor density

  • WUI: 0.7/ha to 0.1/ha Based on WUI (Wildland Urban Interface), Dryad recommends 0.7/ha sensors for a dense WUI and 0.1/ha sensors for a sparse WUI. Spacing between sensors should be 80 m to 100 m for areas of high human activity, 400 m to 500 m for areas of low human activity.

• Mount Wildfire Sensor correctly

  • Select a healthy, stable tree: The tree should be closest to the GPS coordinates set for a sensor using the Silvanet Deployment app. Also, ensure the tree is healthy and not likely to fall over or be harvested.

  • Above 3 m above forest floor: Install the sensor on the tree approximately 3 meters above the level of the forest floor. At this height, the device is most sensitive to fire detection and obtains an increased amount of light on its solar cell. Furthermore, at this height it avoids disturbances from most human and animal interactions.

  • Towards sun (at noon): The sensor needs to be oriented towards the direction of the sun (where it would be at 12:00 noon). Use a compass to identify true South (in the northern hemisphere) or true North (in the southern hemisphere). This maximizes the amount of light that hits the solar panel.

  • Use the spacer correctly: A 2 cm spacer is provided to deploy the sensor slightly away from the trunk of the tree. This avoids direct contact with the tree and allows tree sap to flow down the tree behind the sensor. The spacer also helps keep the sensor away from the moisture in the tree. Furthermore, the spacer allows the sensor to hang vertically rather than laying directly against the bark of the tree which could cause it to tilt at an angle. Also, hanging the sensor vertically improves the radio range of the device.