In response to the growing threat of wildland fires across Southern Europe, researchers with the EU-funded ARCA project have successfully deployed and field-tested the ARCA Mobile WatchStation, an autonomous surveillance platform built for early wildfire detection and environmental monitoring.
Developed by MECOnet, the portable watch station is fully solar-powered and built for continuous, off-grid operation in high-risk forested regions without relying on local power grids.
Dual-Spectrum Imaging & Off-Grid Autonomy
The Mobile WatchStation combines optical and thermal surveillance into a single deployable unit:
- Dual Cameras: Features a high-resolution Hikvision Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) optical camera alongside a Dahua thermal imaging camera. The thermal lens identifies localized heat sources day or night, while the PTZ camera allows remote operators to zoom in for instant visual confirmation.
- Solar Power & Cloud IoT: Powered by a photovoltaic solar panel paired with battery storage, the station uses an ESP32 sensor gateway and 4G connectivity to stream thermal footage, video feeds, and environmental data directly to the cloud.
Visual vs thermal view over Podgorica
Proven Field Performance
Initial field deployment took place on the elevated slopes of Dajbabska Gora near Podgorica. The testing confirmed the unit’s off-grid reliability under real outdoor conditions, demonstrating clear long-range optical zoom across distances up to 6.5 km.
Zooming capabilities
The system effectively covers a 5 km surveillance diameter, offering targeted early fire detection capabilities within a 1 km range. Prior outdoor trials with simulated fire sources confirmed that the thermal sensors can immediately spot open flames and transmit alerts to remote operators.
With hardware integration and wireless connectivity now validated, the MECOnet engineering team is focusing on developing and integrating AI algorithms to automate image analysis, speed up detection times, and minimize false alarms.