Awards & Nominations
HER has received the following awards and nominations. Way to go!
Spot That Fire V3.0
The Walking Cloud
Summary
According to NASA, there is always some place on earth that is on fire. A dry vegetation can be a decisive factor to start a fire, thinking about it we created an independent system capable of capturing water from the atmosphere and returning it to the soil in the form of "artificial rain". In a perfect union between the basic concepts of physics, innovative technologies and data provided by NASA, the project aims to act before a catastrophe starts. We are HER, the team responsible for creating the “walking cloud”, the first step towards a better future.
How We Addressed This Challenge
Considering the global scope of the fires, their negative effects and the tendency to occur more in the coming years due to global warming, the creation of a solution is urgent. Our idea is based on the prevention of favorable conditions for the start of a fire, in view of the difficulty already seen in fighting fire and its low efficiency. Thus, the project brings a way to manipulate one of the parameters of this scenario: the fuel.
The moist soil prevents easy combustion by breaking the fire triangle and removing its main fuel, which is dry organic matter, that once in contact with any source of ignition can start a catastrophe. The alternative proposed is to capture water using a fine bioplastic mesh exposed to conditions of higher water vapor concentration in the air, which are during night time and early mornings. For transportation, two NASA solar powered drones that recharge during the day will be used. Thus, this independent system is responsible for returning the water captured as an “artificial rain”.
How We Developed This Project
Among all the challenges, “Spot that Fire” is one of the most urgent scenarios and also more complex to solve. Believing in the extreme relevance of this issue, the HER team joined forces and energy in order to find an innovative solution to this catastrophic problem.
Our inspiration was to use the water already available in suspension in the atmosphere with a preventive approach, since fighting fires requires an immense amount of resources and it is often not even possible to direct them to remote locations on fire. The alternative applied to circumvent the difficult access to fire spots is the use of chemical products, however these contaminate the soil and water, being inefficient when the aim is environmental preservation.
Thus, the idea was based on the principle that water does not necessarily have to come from a conventional water channel, such as rivers and lakes or transported on a large scale by human agents. Knowing that a part of the atmospheric air is composed of water vapor, which condenses when passing through a fine mesh of fabric, a new capture alternative is created.
The best way to carry the mesh and enable its application where conventional resources would not apply, is by solar powered drones, which are programmed via satellite with the coordinates of where they must operate. As they work on solar energy, it is not necessary to return to a specific location to recharge, gaining greater autonomy.
Challenging yourself is the main stimulus for strong people. Women by nature are challenged to be beyond obvious. Working on a challenge that requires strength to change the reality, made us see that exploring the greatest individual potential and knowing how to unify it, is the best way to turn ideas into solutions.
The greatest achievement of the HER group was to bring together good concepts in a collaborative environment capable of making “the walking cloud” an innovative project. Believing in the possibility of solving an apparently impossible problem, motivated us to create a bold and revolutionary project.
How We Used Space Agency Data in This Project
It would be useless to develop a solution for the prevention of fires and apply it in a region with small probability of suffering from this problem. Therefore, NASA data is essential for the assertive positioning and efficiency of the project.
The apps WorldView from NASA Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) and EarthNow developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory aggregate extremely relevant information. Records such as humidity, air temperature, water vapor and carbon dioxide are provided as Earth “vital signs”, and assist the “the walking cloud” project to locate and act on focal points that are most likely to start a fire.
Through a time frame, the studies will gather local and historical information on critical humidity and temperature factors capable of forming a favorable scenario for fire. Thinking of acting in a preventive way, the “the walking cloud” system is activated every time parameters are identified to be similar to the historical trends found.
Project Demo
Data & Resources
WorldView, NASA, 2020. <https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/>
EarthNow, NASA, 2020. <https://climate.nasa.gov/earth-now/#/>
Warka Water: a simple way to capture water for poor people in Africa, eCycle, March 17th,2015. <https://www.ecycle.com.br/component/content/article/6-atitude/3101-waka-water-uma-maneira-simples-de-captar-agua-para-populacoes-carentes-da-africa.html>
'Desolate and frustrating scenario': 25 images illustrating tragedy in the Pantanal, BBC, September 11th,2020.<https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/brasil-54095561>
Forest fires around the world are the largest 'in scale and in CO2 emissions' in 18 years, BBC, September 18th, 2020. <https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/geral-54202546>
The six factors that make fires in the Pantanal difficult to control, BBC, September 17th, 2020. <https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/brasil-54186760>