Aussie bushland is harsh and beautiful. It’s also where a lot of Australians choose to call home. That comes with risks, the largest being bushfires. Whilst they can't be stopped they can be managed if detected early.

Currently fire spotters and other line-of-sight methods monitor bushland. Which is restrictive and gets even harder after dark.

NRMA Insurance has always helped communities rebuild after bushfires. But they wanted to do more. We wanted to show NRMA’s more helpful, caring side so we looked to technology to help us shift NRMA’s role from rebuilding communities after bushfires, to building community resilience to bushfires.

Influence came from smoke detectors. An affordable way to warn of fire at home. But what if we could make one for the bush? Topography, weather conditions, and flora create both a challenge and an opportunity. So we explored the possibilities of IoT, wireless network technologies and sensors.

NRMA Fireblanket; a network of sensor ‘nodes’ that analyse the air for bushfire smoke and monitors live weather data. Placed on existing infrastructure, they form a blanket over at-risk communities.

When smoke is detected, a fan kicks-in to ensure consistent airflow and an accurate reading. The nodes then communicate with one-another over the network to triangulate the source of the smoke. Authorities are alerted, whilst the modelling software – called SPARK – tracks and then predicts the course of the fire.

On the outside the nodes are injection moulded polycarbonate which delivers heat-resistance plus it will self-extinguish. At the heart dust particle (PM2.5/10) and CO/CO2 sensors that are calibrated to distinguish a bushfire from a BBQ (bushfires consist of unique compounds due to the flora).

Rather than relying on historical data to predict fire spread – NRMA Fireblanket offers a real-time view, providing firefighters critical information when it’s needed most.