November 02, 2006
RFID For Fighting Brush Fires
Brush fires have been a serious, sometimes fatal, problem in the SouthWestern United States (and elsewhere) for the past few years because of environmental reasons, lightning strikes and arson. And once they get out of control, it's all that short-staffed firefighting crews can do to stop it. So any solution that that gives crews a leg up with an early warning is likely more than welcome. That's exactly what a new RFID-enabled fire mapping sensor will do.
The Telepathx Firesight sensor mesh network system notifies fire brigades in less than 2 minutes - compared to 1-24 hours for GPS-based systems. The system is set up by placing the wireless thermo sensors in a grid and monitoring them with an RTU (remote transmission unit). The RTUs send messages to cell phones, etc. The Telepathx FAQ says that each kilometer of roadway requires nine sensors and four RTUs to be effectively monitored. At about Aus$35 for each sensor and about Aus$200 for each RTU, that's about $315+800 = Aus$1115 per kilometer. But given the cost of fire damage, it's probably a small price to pay.
Other applications of RFID-based sensors including seaport security monitoring in container yards and aiding in some disaster recovery scenarios.
[additional sources: I Newswire]
--
Did you enjoy this post?
« RFID + Govt: Please Tell Us What We Want To Hear | Main | Good or Bad: Small-Transaction Contactless Payment »
