A consortium led by a team of researchers from the University of Coimbra has received 1.5 million euros to develop a digital tool for wildfire risk management, the institution announced today.
The goal of the consortium, led by researchers from the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra (FCTUC), is to create a “digital twin” of the forest.
“A ‘digital twin’ is a computer-based reproduction of the most relevant elements to represent a given physical reality,” explained the project coordinator, Domingos Xavier Viegas, in a press release.
Regarding this project, it involves “a forest, with the components and parameters required to describe and model the physical processes for its management using technological and human resources,” he added.
According to the emeritus professor at FCTUC, “using different models, these numerical data will simulate the various interventions related to wildfire risk management, from prevention to combat and post-fire recovery, virtually replicating the processes occurring in the physical world.”
The Association for the Development of Industrial Aerodynamics of FCTUC is the coordinating entity of the ForestSphere project, which includes participation from the Institute of Systems and Robotics, the companies Onesource, Bold Robotics, Sim4Safety, and REN, the Intermunicipal Community of Coimbra, and the Lousã Municipal Council.
The FCTUC mentioned that the ForestSphere project aims to “reconstruct the orography, the vegetation cover, the dwellings and structures, as well as the meteorological environment, which can influence forest fires,” based on sensory data obtained from various sources, such as satellites and air and ground means.
“The researchers hope, with this project, to incorporate various decision-support tools that have been developed by academia, both nationally and internationally, to improve the ability to interact in the risk management process, including in the training of agents,” it added.
