The IoT Forest.

Roadmap for The IoT Forest, California Fire Prevention Project. (work in progress, this is an obvious summary).

Project Overview

Name: IoT Forest Monitoring and Management System for California, everywhere. #Arrakis2060
Concept Owner: Joey Coelho, BunnyMaker, the IV, José Coelho Barbosa Filho and friends
Goal: Develop and deploy a cost-effective, autonomous beacon-based IoT mesh network for forest monitoring, wildfire prevention, and ecosystem management across California’s wildfire-prone areas and then Global risk areas with a secondary use for a mesh network SOS broadcast for stranded individuals in areas lacking cellphone coverage.

Project Phases

Phase 1: Concept Validation and Pilot Deployment

• Objective: Validate the IoT Forest concept on a small scale, in a controlled environment, then forest.

Key Activities:

Hardware Prototyping:

• Acquire low-cost, battery-efficient beacons with sensors for temperature and humidity.
• Ensure reliable Beacon Mesh Network capabilities and bidirectional communication.

Advantages of a Beacon Mesh Network

Decentralization:

• Nodes (beacons in your IoT Forest) communicate directly with each other rather than relying on a central hub.
• This ensures the network remains operational even if some nodes fail.

Self-Healing:

• If a node becomes non-operational, the network dynamically reroutes communication through other available nodes.

Scalability:

• Additional nodes can be added seamlessly, expanding the network’s coverage and resolution.

Redundancy:

• Multiple paths between nodes increase reliability, as messages can take alternate routes if a node or link fails.

Software Development:

• Create algorithms for mapping and gap identification, multi path finder for data relay.
• Implement real-time alert thresholds for high-temperature anomalies.
• Adpative broadcast intervals and data relaying.

Deployment:

• Air-drop beacons over the pilot area using drones.
• Deploy a control station to receive and process data, by road guardrails, ideally in under 2 minutes for fast and cost effective deployment.

Validation:

• Monitor network performance and reliability.
• Test alert escalation and firefighting unit response.
• Estimated Cost: $10,000
• Duration: 1 month

Phase 2: Regional Deployment

• Objective: Deploy the network to cover a larger region (~100,000 hectares) in California, such as the Sierra Nevada forests.

Key Activities:

Beacon Acquisition:

• Produce ~31,847 beacons at less than $10/unit.

Expanded Deployment:

• Use drones for efficient air-dropping.
• Deploy additional control stations for regional coverage.

Team and Station Setup:

• Establish a small monitoring team for real-time monitoring and decision-making.
• Set up one management location in a central tech hub with the required infrastructure to manage the network.
• Set up one technical team for monitoring, control stations' maintenance, which are located by road sides.
• Start crowdsourced monitoring initiative and data sharing services API.

Software Optimization:

• Refine gap-filling and self-healing algorithms.
• Enhance real-time data public API access.
• Estimated Cost: $5 million (includes airborne deployment, station setup, and staffing).
• Duration: 12 months

Phase 3: Statewide Coverage

• Objective: Deploy IoT Forest systems across California’s wildfire-prone regions, covering millions of hectares.
• Key Activities:

Partnerships:

• Collaborate with CAL FIRE, US Forest Service, and private landowners.
• Secure funding from state wildfire mitigation programs.

Standardization:

• Develop guidelines for beacon placement, deployment, and maintenance specific to California’s forests.
• Integrate with existing firefighting systems (e.g., drones, satellites).

Deployment:

• Use long range drones for large-scale beacon distribution.
• Establish additional border control stations in key regions like Southern California.

Team Expansion:

• Expand management teams and stations proportionally to the coverage area.

Continuous Monitoring and Updates:

• Utilize collected data for fire prevention research and forest management through the public API.
• Estimated Cost: $50 million (includes statewide airborne deployment, scaling of stations, and staffing).
• Duration: 3–5 years

IoT Forest vs. Other Wildfire Monitoring Methods

Self-Mapping and Adaptive Updates

Network Self-Mapping Capability

Functionality:

• Each beacon broadcasts its unique ID and “I’m Alive” status to nearby nodes.
• The network forms a "self-mapping array" by triangulating beacon id, nearest neighbour id etc
• Gaps in coverage are identified automatically, allowing for additional deployments through small manned drones, at the lowest cost possible.

Control Stations

Functionality:

• Control Stations receive data from beacons within the network through a neighbour to neighbour broadcast, in a "self-mapping array"
• Handling the network topology and data and relaying it to the management location.
• Control Stations are locate by road sides, allowing for ease maintenance access, optimizing communication intervals, through 5g or satellite, solar powered.

Distributed Algorithm Updates

Process:

• Updates to network protocols are initiated at control stations and propagated through the network.
• Beacons apply updates autonomously, ensuring seamless network evolution without manual intervention.
• Algorithms adjust broadcast intervals dynamically based on environmental conditions (e.g., high temperature triggers shorter intervals).

Key Stakeholders

• Environmental Agencies: CAL FIRE, US Forest Service, and California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
• Technology Partners: IoT hardware manufacturers, software developers.
• Funding Sources: California Wildfire Mitigation Grants, private investors, NGOs focused on conservation and crowdsourcing.
• Firefighting Units: CAL FIRE crews, aerial suppression teams.

Expected Benefits

• Wildfire Prevention: Detects fires early, preventing catastrophic damage.
• Cost Efficiency: Deploys and operates at a fraction of satellite and manual monitoring costs.
• Data Insights: Provides continuous environmental data for research and policy-making.

Next Steps

1. Finalize hardware and software prototypes.
2. Seek partnerships with CAL FIRE and California environmental agencies.
3. Launch pilot project in Northern California and document results.
4. Expand into larger regions such as Sierra Nevada and Southern California.

Contact: Joey Coelho and team for further inquiries or collaboration opportunities. https://www.linkedin.com/in/yosef-coelho

Check: beaconbins and GreenQuests