UC-led consortium awarded €1.5 million to develop digital tool for wildfire risk management

A consortium led by a research team from the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the University of Coimbra (FCTUC) has been awarded €1.5 million to develop a ‘Digital Twin’ of the forest — a digital tool designed to support wildfire risk management.

The Association for the Development of Industrial Aerodynamics (ADAI), based at the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the University of Coimbra (FCTUC), is coordinating the ForestSphere project, which also involves the Institute for Systems and Robotics (ISR), the companies Onesource, Bold Robotics, Sim4Safety and REN, as well as the Coimbra Intermunicipal Community and Lousã Town Council.

“A ‘digital twin’ is a detailed, computer-based, three-dimensional model that replicates the key elements of a given physical environment. In this case, it represents a forest, incorporating the components and parameters needed to describe and simulate the physical processes involved in its management, using both technological and human resources,” explains Domingos Xavier Viegas, Professor Emeritus at FCTUC and coordinator of the project.

The ForestSphere project aims to use sensory data from a range of sources — including satellites, aerial and ground-based systems — to recreate orography, vegetation, buildings, infrastructure and weather conditions, all of which can influence wildfire behaviour.

“By using different models and numerical data, we’ll be able to simulate the various stages of wildfire risk management — from prevention and firefighting to post-fire recovery — by virtually reproducing the processes that take place in the real world,” explains the expert.

The researchers hope this project will enable the implementation of various decision-support tools developed by academia to optimise engagement in the risk management process, including the training of response teams.