UT Global Team Advances in XPRIZE Wildfire Tech Competition

Twenty-nine teams worldwide have advanced in the XPRIZE Wildfire Competition, including Team Texas-Soton with members from The University of Texas at Austin, which in July 2024 moved to the next round of competition in the Autonomous Wildfire Response Track. 

XPRIZE Wildfire is a four-year, $11 million competition that aims to incentivize the innovation of firefighting technologies, transforming wildfire management approaches through new technologies that detect, characterize and respond to wildfires before they become destructive. The competition operates within two tracks: space-based detection and autonomous firefighting technologies.  

Competing in the Autonomous Wildfire Response Track, Team Texas-Soton is a collaboration between The University of Texas at Austin (UT’s Jackson School of Geosciences and Cockrell School of Engineering), University of Southampton (United Kingdom), University of Edinburgh (Scotland), TU Delft (Netherlands) and Texas A&M Forest Service. 

Team Texas-Soton developed a solution using unmanned aerial vehicle systems equipped with advanced sensors and algorithms for wildfire detection and suppression. High-performance suppression drones carry suppressants to subdue incipient fires.  The system integrates edge computing, radio links, and user interfaces to achieve rapid and accurate responses. 

The team’s submitted proposals were evaluated and judged by a panel of external experts that includes professionals in fire science and management, fire aviation, uncrewed autonomous systems, remote sensing, engineering and more.  

The 29 selected teams will now share a $750,000 milestone prize to continue their efforts toward transforming wildfire responses and minimizing destructive fires.