The use of IoT to stop fires on farms.

Fire accidents are quite devastating in any environment but much more horrific when it involves livestock. The race to ensure food security often lead to expansion of projects with much more investment in properties ,animals and seedlings ,the economic effect of losses in agriculture due to fires can be quite huge and as such a lot of strategies are put in place to prevent fire outbreaks. Farm protocols involve preventive efforts such as 1) switching off all electrical appliances 2) prevent unsupervised burning in and around farm areas. 3)installation of smoke detectors to alert and put out any fire accident. The protocols are reliable but surveillance is key to ensure an accident free environment,with precision agriculture sensors,scanners and cameras are aiding farmers to prevent accidents,manage farm activities and also prevent theft. The IoT has simplified the work of farmers not only reducing labor cost but ensuring maximum productivity and boosting profit. The IoT approach ensures instant response as data,pictures and updates are uploaded on phones real-time. Nare IoT Labs a South Korean startup, has developed a cost effective solution to prevent and warn farmers of any faults, before the onset of a fire. The system, called Prevention System for Electrical Arc Fires was developed when it was discovered that the surge in farm fires are caused by electrical arc faults which basically is a high-power discharge of electricity between two or more conductors. The Prevention System for Electrical Arc Fires can recognize the difference between a harmless arc and a dangerous one that could spiral into a fire, the Nare IoT is then able to send warnings to a farmer’s smartphone and let the farmer turn off a power grid near the electrical arc to avoid further damage. There is an alarm in the system which goes off when a dangerous electrical arc happens.more