TLDR · SCIENCE & FUTURISTIC TECHNOLOGY

THESE DRONES DROP BURNING BALLS IN THE FOREST TO CONTROL WILDFIRES

popsci.com8 min read

Summary from the TLDR newsletter

One of the oldest methods of preventing wildfires is doing controlled burns, which preemptively remove leaves, dead branches, and other dry materials. Nebraska-based startup Drone Amplify uses small quadcopter drones carrying hundreds of ping-pong ball-sized combustible eggs to ignite small, trackable, and contained fires. Its drones are currently operating more than 200 systems in the US, Canada, Germany, and Australia. Using drones enables better monitoring as well as nighttime operations.