Intel may be best known for its design and production of processors, but the chip giant has its hand in many fields of technology and related-research, one of which is disaster management.
On day zero of IDF, Intel Labs was showing off a few devices it had developed to help manage a disaster situation. The most interesting of those devices is called the Fireball. Terry O’Shay from Intel Labs was on hand to show off the device, which you can see in the video below.
Fireball is a spherical device with an antenna popping out of the top of a steel case. It is meant to be thrown into a fire at which point the sensors inside can feedback information about temperature, the quality of the air (amount of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and ammonia present), and what free volatiles exist. The electronics and battery housed in the center of the Fireball don’t fry in the fire because they are encased in a ceramic shell, which also means the device won’t explode and injure anyone.
The information collected by each Fireball is fed back over WiFi to a server sitting in the firetruck. Firemen can then gain access to this information using an app on their phone which gives clear readouts for each sensor. The data can also be stored for later analysis.
It is hoped the additional information the Fireball provides will help firefighters better tackle fires. Using multiple Fireballs in larger fires may also help in the planning stages of how to best go about putting the fire out. Testing is required with firefighters using the Fireball in a real-life situation, but Intel is confident the device will be in use within the next few months.