Rosenbauer International : partners with OroraTech to combat wildfires

• Satellite-based earth observation to speed up response times and shorten firefighting operations

Rosenbauer, a worldwide leading fire-service vehicles and firefighting equipment manufacturer, and OroraTech, a leading digital wildfire intelligence service, have entered a strategic partnership to combat the emerging problem of wildfires by means of satellite systems.

According to the UN¹, the number of wildfires is estimated to rise by 50% by 2100, and wildfires will become more intense and more frequent, ravaging communities and ecosystems in their path. Digitalizing firefighting, the partnership between Rosenbauer and OroraTech will provide actionable insights to emergency organizations and forces on the ground.

Rosenbauer CSO Andreas Zeller: "Based on our long-time expertise of firefighting on the ground, the combination of our incident command system Connected Command and the satellite data provided by OroraTech enables faster response times and allows us to save the health and lives of firefighters."

OroraTech CEO Thomas Grübler: "Partnering with Rosenbauer, we will unlock satellite and other sensor data for emergency services around the world in a seamless manner, helping them for faster and more accurate response."

With the satellite data generated and analysed by OroraTech, Rosenbauer will further process and integrate this information to provide all the relevant data for those fighting and managing wildfires. The result is an uninterrupted information flow of life-saving insights reaching from fire detection to emergency response.

Already today, OroraTech provides up-to-date wildfire information derived from public satellites with thermal imaging cameras. However, at intervals that are rarely sufficient to prevent disasters, depending on the region: delayed by up to 6 hours. Together with OroraTech, Rosenbauer plans to expand this system into a wildfire monitoring and fighting system that works with intervals of up to 30 minutes. To this end, the Munich-based startup will launch up to 100 satellites the size of a shoebox, each equipped with a high-resolution thermal imaging camera and artificial intelligence, into space over the next few years. The first prototype has already been orbiting since January 2022.

¹⁾https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/number-wildfires-rise-50-2100-and-governments-are-not-prepared