Radio coverage for emergency communication systems to operate under critical wildfire environments TOOL RESCuE-TOOL

Project: Radio coverage for emergency communication systems to operate under critical wildfire environments TOOL

Acronym: RESCuE-TOOL

Main Objective:
In this research project, the study of radiowave propagation phenomena in the presence of wildfires, is proposed. Both experimental and theoretical approaches to examine and understand radio propagation in fire environments for various scenarios and fuel heaps that are problematic to radio communication will be examined and a new radio system planning will be studied and implemented in real case applications. Discussion and recommendations will be made concerning radio communication frequency selection and considerations for both SIRESP radio coverage and backhaul redundancy for the backhaul radio links of each base station, to operate in fire environments. This builds up on top of more than 20 years of extensive research work on attenuation in vegetation media by research team.

Reference: PCIF/SSI/0194/2017

Funding: FCT

Start Date: 31-12-2018

End Date: 27-02-2023

Team: Rafael Ferreira da Silva Caldeirinha, Mário António Patrício Carreira Vala, Nuno Ricardo Cordeiro Leonor, João Manuel de Almeida Monteiro Felício, Sandra Maria Salvador Mota Pinto Ribeiro, António Miguel Castanheira Afonso de Almeida, Stefânia de Sousa Faria, Carlos Antonio Cardoso Fernandes, Carlos Eduardo do Rego da Costa Salema, Pedro António Gomes Duarte Coimbra

Groups: Antennas and Propagation – Lr, Antennas and Propagation – Lx

Partners: University of Adelaide, Australia

Local Coordinator: Rafael Ferreira da Silva Caldeirinha

United Nations Strategic Development Goal - Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Associated Publications

1Boock Chapters
T.O. Oliveira, M. Vala, S. Faria, J. R. Reis, N. Leonor, R. F. S. Caldeirinha, A Study on Small Sensor Node Antenna Performance Camouflaged Under Grassland Fire, Chapter in, Internet of Things. Technology and Applications. IFIPIoT 2021., Camarinha-Matos L.M., Heijenk G., Katkoori S., Strous L., Springer Nature Switzerland AG, Switzerland, 2022

4Papers in Journals
M. Vala, S. Faria, P. Coimbra, N. Leonor, J. M. Felício, C. A. Fernandes, C. Salema, R. F. S. Caldeirinha, Effects of Fire Plumes from Pine Needles on Small-scale Fading in Radiowave Propagation, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, Vol. 71, No. 4, pp. 3473 - 3484, April, 2023,
| Abstract | BibTex
S. Faria, M. Vala, P. Coimbra, N. Leonor, J. M. Felício, C. A. Fernandes, C. Salema, R. F. S. Caldeirinha, Measurement Trials and Modeling of Radio Propagation Through Small-scale Fire using Pinus Pinaster Fuel Bed, IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 581 - 585, March, 2023,
| Abstract | BibTex
N. Leonor, S. Faria, M. Vala, R. F. S. Caldeirinha, A Combined ITM and LITU-R Model for Enhanced Radio Coverage Predictions of Mission Critical Communications in Mountainous Vegetated Terrains, IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, Vol. 21, No. 9, pp. 1777 - 1781, September, 2022,
| Abstract | Full text (PDF 3 MBs) | BibTex
N. Leonor, T. Fernandes, M. Sanchez, R. F. S. Caldeirinha, A 3D Model for Millimeter-Wave Propagation Through Vegetation Media Using Ray-Tracing, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, Vol. 67, No. 6, pp. 4313 - 4318, March, 2019,
| Abstract | BibTex

15Papers in Conferences
S. Heleno, C. A. Fernandes, J. M. Felício, C. Salema, R. F. S. Caldeirinha, N. Leonor, Development of TETRA Radio Backhaul Network Redundancy Plan for Disaster Recovery in Mission Critical Communications, European Conf. on Antennas & Propagation - EUCAP, Florence, Italy, March, 2023,
| Abstract | BibTex
S. Faria, M. Vala, N. Leonor, J. M. Felício, C. A. Fernandes, C. Salema, R. F. S. Caldeirinha, Modelling of Radiowave Propagation Through Small-scale Forest Fire, URSI Atlantic Radio Science Meeting AT-AP-RASC, Gran Canaria, Spain, May, 2022,
| Abstract | BibTex
S. Faria, M. Vala, N. Leonor, J. M. Felício, C. A. Fernandes, C. Salema, R. F. S. Caldeirinha, Measurement Trials of Radiowave Propagation Through Pinus Pinaster Fuel Bed Under Fire, European Conf. on Antennas & Propagation - EUCAP, Madrid, Spain, March, 2022,
| Abstract | BibTex
T.O. Oliveira, M. Vala, S. Faria, J. R. Reis, N. Leonor, R. F. S. Caldeirinha, A Study on Small Sensor Node Antenna Performance Camouflaged Under Grassland Fire, International Federation for Information Processing IFIP International Internet of Things Conference IFIP IOT, Amsterdam, Netherlands, November, 2021,
| Abstract | BibTex
M. Vala, S. Faria, N. Leonor, J. M. Felício, C. A. Fernandes, C. Salema, R. F. S. Caldeirinha, Complex Permittivity Study of a Pinus Pinaster Needle Bed on Fire, ANACOM URSI 15.º Congresso do Comité Português da URSI ''Sustentabilidade ambiental no uso do espectro radioelétrico, Leiria, Portugal, November, 2021,
| Abstract | BibTex
T.O. Oliveira, M. Vala, S. Faria, J. R. Reis, N. Leonor, R. F. S. Caldeirinha, A Study on Small Sensor Node Antenna Performance Camouflaged Under Grassland Fire, International Federation for Information Processing IFIP International Internet of Things Conference IFIP IOT, Amsterdam, Netherlands, November, 2021,
| Abstract | BibTex
S. Faria, M. Vala, N. Leonor, J. M. Felício, C. A. Fernandes, C. Salema, R. F. S. Caldeirinha, Electromagnetic study of complex permittivity on a medium-scale flat terrain fire scenario, Simposium Nacional de la Unión Científica Internacional de Radio, Vigo, Spain, September, 2021,
| Abstract | BibTex
S. Faria, M. Vala, P. Coimbra, J. M. Felício, N. Leonor, C. A. Fernandes, C. Salema, R. F. S. Caldeirinha, Analytical Studies of Refractive Index Variation in Pine Needles Media under Wildfire Conditions, The European Conference on Antennas and Propagation - EuCAP, Düsseldorf, Germany, March, 2021,
| Abstract | BibTex
S. Faria, M. Vala, P. Coimbra, N. Leonor, J. M. Felício, C. A. Fernandes, C. Salema, R. F. S. Caldeirinha, Radiowave Propagation Modelling of Dual Wildfire Front Spreading over Hilly Terrain at 700 MHz, Telecoms Conference ConfTELE, Leiria, Portugal, February, 2021,
| Abstract | BibTex
P. Coimbra, S. Faria, M. Vala, J. M. Felício, C. A. Fernandes, N. Leonor, R. F. S. Caldeirinha, C. Salema, Experimental Setup for Radio Characterization of Fire at Microwave Frequencies, Telecoms Conference ConfTELE, Leiria, Portugal, February, 2021,
| Abstract | BibTex
S. Faria, M. Vala, P. Coimbra, J. M. Felício, N. Leonor, C. A. Fernandes, C. Salema, R. F. S. Caldeirinha, Comparative Study of Computational Electromagnetics Applied to Radiowave Propagation in Wildfires, URSI International Union of Radio Science General Assembly & Scientific Symposium URSI GASS, Rome, Italy, September, 2020,
| Abstract | Full text (PDF 381 KBs) | BibTex
G. Ramos, P. Pereira, N. Leonor, R. F. S. Caldeirinha, Analysis of Radiowave Propagation in Forest Media Using the Parabolic Equation, European Conf. on Antennas & Propagation - EUCAP, Copenhagen, Denmark, March, 2020,
| Abstract | BibTex
N. Leonor, T. Fernandes, R. F. S. Caldeirinha, A Practical Deconvolution Antenna Method to Retrieve Scattering Profile in Complex Random Media - A Vegetation Case Study at 28 GHz, European Conf. on Antennas & Propagation - EUCAP, Copenhagen, Denmark, March, 2020,
| Abstract | BibTex
S. Faria, N. Leonor, C. A. Fernandes, J. M. Felício, C. Salema, R. F. S. Caldeirinha, Radiowave Propagation Modelling in the Presence of Wildfires: Initial Results, European Conf. on Antennas & Propagation - EUCAP, Copenhagen, Denmark, March, 2020,
| Abstract | BibTex
N. Leonor, C. A. Fernandes, C. Salema, R. F. S. Caldeirinha, A Framework for the Analysis of Wildfire Effects in Emergency Communication Systems, IEEE Computing, Electromagnetics, and Machine Intelligence Workshop CEMi, Stellenbosch, South Africa, November, 2018,
| Abstract | BibTex

4Thesis
Characterization of the radio communication channel in forest fire environment, Instituto Superior Técnico, MSc Student, Pedro António Gomes Duarte Coimbra, Supervisor: C. A. Fernandes, Co-supervisor: J. M. Felício, set-2019 - nov-2020
Radiowave propagation in wildfires, DEEC/IST - Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, PhD Student, Mário António Patrício Carreira Vala, Supervisor: R. F. S. Caldeirinha, Co-supervisor: C. A. Fernandes, fev-2018 - set-2023
Study of radiowave propagation in vegetation media in the presence of forest fires, Instituto Politécnico de Leiria, MSc Student, Alexandre José Paulo Lourenço, Supervisor: R. F. S. Caldeirinha, Co-supervisor: T. Fernandes, set-2017 - jun-2020
A Generic Fire Electromagnetic Simulator (GFES), Instituto Superior Técnico, PhD Student, Stefânia de Sousa Faria, Supervisor: C. A. Fernandes, Co-supervisor: N. Leonor, set-2021 - ago-2025

Project / RESCuE-TOOL

Project: Radio coverage for emergency communication systems to operate under critical wildfire environments TOOL