Infrared Fire Detection with Distributed Sensors and Timely Alerts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional fire and smoke detection systems are inaccurate, difficult to monitor, and fail to comply with regulatory standards, leading to false positives and negatives, and their degradation necessitates costly compensatory actions.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising sensor devices and a computing device that analyzes data from the environment to detect hazardous events, such as flames and smoke, using infrared and image processing algorithms, and outputs appropriate indications, compliant with NFPA standards, and can interface with existing fire alarm systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional video-based fire and smoke detection systems are used, then the systems can detect fire and smoke, but they provide low resolution video, have limited visibility, and are highly inaccurate resulting in false positives and false-negatives
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the monitoring function into multiple independent sensor devices distributed throughout the environment, each capturing data from its local field of view. This segmentation allows each sensor to provide high-resolution, accurate detection in its specific area while the overall system maintains simplicity through modular architecture. The computing device aggregates data from these segmented sensors to achieve comprehensive accurate detection without requiring a single complex system.
2Reliability
If conventional fire protection systems are used, then fire detection is provided, but they are difficult to monitor and fail to comply with regulatory fire protection code standards
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically monitors itself through the computing device that receives data from sensor devices, analyzes the data for hazardous events, and generates indications without requiring manual monitoring. The system self-verifies compliance with regulatory standards through automated data analysis and processing, eliminating the need for human operators to continuously monitor while ensuring regulatory compliance through consistent algorithmic evaluation.
3Measurement precision
If fixed location video-based detection systems are used, then the systems can detect hazardous events, but they provide low resolution video and have limited visibility
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from a single fixed video camera providing two-dimensional visual monitoring to a distributed array of sensor devices capturing multi-dimensional data (thermal, visible light, smoke, etc.) from multiple locations. This dimensional expansion allows each sensor to provide high-resolution detection in its local area while collectively covering the entire monitoring space, achieving both high resolution and comprehensive visibility.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus may include a one or more sensor devices configured to capture data of an environment, such as infrared data and images, and a computing device in communication with the one or more sensor devices. The computing device may be configured to receive the data, determine one or more hazardous events based on analyzing the data, and cause one or more indications associated with the one or more hazardous events to be output.