Infernodes
The Infernodes system was developed as a tool to improve communication, safety, and efficiency for wildland firefighters. Infernodes was selected as a finalist in the 2021 Beat the Blaze Hackathon, a competition organized by the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN), and was nominated as an outstanding student project by Harvard MDE Faculty for the '20-'21 academic year.
Every member of the firefighting team is outfitted with a node which clips to their helmet and provides vital communication updates. Messages are broadcast to the LED screen, and a beeper signal alerts the firefighters (also known as smokejumpers or hotshots) to review the information. This is critical for two reasons:
In remote areas, signals and battery signals are scarce, so high tech solutions are not well suited for most team members.
Equipment is scarce due to budget and comms restrictions, so only critical personnel are given radios, which presents a safety and efficiency issue for field teams.
Infernodes perform a variety of necessary functions, combining multiple tools into a lightweight, portable device that is simple for all team members to use. Easily understandable updates are broadcast to pertinent nodes, and GPS data is relayed back to a central hub, with an added emergency beacon if a device remains still or in an unexpected position for too long.
Team leaders monitor the central hub, and use it to convey an optimal fire control strategy across all interagency teams.
