To detect extreme weather events around the world more quickly, Ororatech is working on an early warning system. Currently, it can take several hours or even days for a fire to be identified and reported by people on site, aircraft, or drones. A fire may have spread widely by this time. Thomas Grübler, one of the founders of Ororatech, says:
"If we want to fight forest and bush fires, stop illegal slash-and-burn practices, and thus reduce CO2 emissions, we need a global early warning system. Satellites can detect fires earlier and monitor them more closely. With this information, emergency services on the ground can fight fires faster and more effectively."
The Munich-based startup has now completed the development of a forest fire warning app that combines heat measurements from satellites with local weather data or camera systems for any location in the world, searches for fire sources, and sends warnings to users upon request. According to the company, the platform is already being used by customers, including fire departments and authorities in Canada and Australia, forest owners in Chile and Brazil, as well as insurance companies and NGOs. In the future, urban planners will also be able to use the app, for example, to locate particularly hot regions in metropolitan areas and compare the data with archives.
Observation gap in the afternoon
The algorithms underlying the evaluations still use data provided by the large Earth observation satellites – for example, those of ESA and NASA.
"However, these scientific satellites are positioned in such a way that an observation gap arises in the afternoon, precisely when the risk of forest fires is particularly high. We can close this gap with small satellites that cover new orbital planes, thus improving temporal resolution,"
explained Martin Langer, Head of Technical Development at Ororatech.
It is scheduled to start in early 2022
The small satellites for detecting forest fires, weighing less than four kilograms, are currently being built in the company's Munich laboratory. Each will be equipped with a thermal infrared camera. The first satellite is scheduled to enter orbit in early 2022 aboard a rocket from a space transportation service provider. At least one more is expected to follow in the same year. The funding for this is in place: Ororatech raised 5.8 million euros in venture capital in a Series A round this summer.
"If everything goes as planned, we will be able to close the observation gap of the large Earth observation satellites with 14 small satellites within the next two years. This would be a major step forward for our customers, and from there we can scale the system to 30 to 60 minutes of advance warning time,"
summarizes Langer.
