Vulcan is an autonomous firefighting drone prototype built around the idea that the first responder in a high-risk fire does not always need to be human. It focuses on high-rise or hard-to-enter environments where visibility, heat, and navigation can put firefighters at serious risk.
The drone uses an onboard camera and OpenCV pipeline to detect and localize flames in real time. Detection events are sent through an ESP32-controlled system that coordinates the suppression mechanism, allowing the prototype to move from perception to water deployment in one closed-loop response.
High-rise fires are extremely dangerous for first responders to enter without prior situational awareness or a safe way to locate active flames.
- OpenCV flame detection localizes fire in real time from onboard camera footage
- ESP32 coordinates the detection pipeline and suppression mechanism
- Autonomous water deployment reduces the need for human entry
Demonstrates a path toward AI-assisted fire suppression tools that can reduce firefighter risk.