A resident of Skolkovo’s IT cluster has made it into the semifinals of the worldwide Cisco Internet of Things Innovation Grand Challenge with a next-generation forest fire detection system.
DiSiCon, a startup from Nizhny Novgorod, was selected from over 800 applicants as one of 19 semifinalists in the competition, which was inaugurated by the U.S. network equipment producer to stimulate internet-based innovation.
The Russian company will battle it out with innovators from Australia, Britain, Germany, Israel, Ireland, India, Canada, Singapore and the United States for one of six places in October’s grand final in Chicago.
Like many other countries, Russia is regularly ravaged by forest fires, which threaten rural villages and even claim lives each year.
DiSiCon’s product, Lesnoy Dozor, or “Forest Watch,” raises the alarm early using an integrated system of sensors, cameras, and computer software.
Thermal imagers and infrared cameras positioned on cellphone electrical towers fix the coordinates of a blaze by triangulation up to 30km away. The data is sent to regional computer stations, where operatives alert the emergency services.
The company claims the system has undergone successful testing in 18 of Russia’s 83 regions and received the stamp of approval from the Emergencies Ministry and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
Three winners will be named from the six finalists during the October 14-16 final in Chicago, each taking a share of the $250,000 prize fund to jumpstart their businesses.
Cisco is a partner of the Skolkovo Foundation.