Prevent forest fires with the Birdhouse Alarm
The northern part of Spain, which is full of villages, vegetation and wildlife, is prone to wildfires. In fact, nearly 40% of the land was burnt back in 2015. Unfortunately, whenever a fire breaks out in a remote area, it often goes unnoticed or reached before damage occurs. With these instances becoming more common, insurance company Generali decided to find a better solution for early detection.
Their answer to the problem? Birdhouse Alarms. Each wooden (recycled, of course) birdhouse features an Arduino, a solar panel, a rechargeable battery, a smoke sensor and a 3G network connection, enabling it to send a geolocated signal to local authorities in the event of a fire.
The prototypes, which were designed by Ogilvy & Mather, are currently being tested.
[original story: Arduino Blog]