CATEC collaborates in a project that improves the communication system in firefighting

Our centre took part in the R&D project IGNIS, an initiative with the aim of improving the communication systems utilised during the operations of firefighting, by combining satellite signals and information collected by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The goal of the project was to create a new communication network so that all the people involved in firefighting had at their disposal and real-time, more reliable and more precise information and data about the fire situation.

The initiative, led by the Spanish telecommunications satellite operator Hispasat, ended in a positive way. During a final demonstration, by using communications emitted by a satellite, the system transmitted location information and videos obtained from the aircraft to command positions in real time. In this way, from hereafter and more precisely, it will be possible to know the progress and the evolution of the fire to avoid the rescue runs useless risks.

CATEC put its experience and know-how in the project; above all, its knowledge in the development of communications systems based on the DDS standard middleware. On the other hand, CATEC developed an innovative location system that enable to know the GPS position of a transmitter without the need for any additional system.

Besides Hispasat and CATEC, more companies and entities such as Inaer, Albentia, ISDEFE, Tecnalia and Polytechnic University of Madrid took part in this project.