To Infinity and Beyond

https://fireproof.glideapp.io

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1eab3Ei1lboL_uIhZVI8iby_7gxiUDUtAmXO5ZiFXS6c/edit#slide=id.g35ed75ccf_0134

The app will include an interactive map, which will provide information such as hotspot regions of affected areas (Intensity can be based on color, the darker, the more intense impact in the region) The map will be interactive, meaning that the user can effectively scroll and look at how many areas around the continent are affected by wildfire/agriculture fires) additionally, when a location is pinpointed, more statistics regarding that region are provided to the user, for instance: air quality, atmospheric gasses, etc. The map feature will also be able to be used for drone pilots, as this application can be utilized to ensure the safety of the pilot and the drone. As there will be GPS tracking features in the application, which would warn the pilot if the drone is entering areas under threat of wildfire/agricultural fire, or any other possible threat such as the release of unsafe gasses, the integrated map features will allow for you to get your drone back to safety. Another section of the application will allow you to enter your area of residency and provide the details regarding the risk% of the nearest metropolitan city while also providing statistics of the area such as Air Quality, the impact of atmospheric gasses, and how close you are to a particular threat. This section of the application is separate from the interactive map and utilizes the location you enter to provide you with certain information about how the area is affected. The last and final component of this application is the description, which details the impacts of wildfires/agricultural fires and how they could be an even bigger threat in the future!

Barker, M. K. (n.d.). South Pole LOLA DEM Mosaic. NASA's Planetary Geology,

     Geophysics and Geochemistry Laboratory. Retrieved October 2, 2022, from

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Meade, D. (Ed.). (2022, March 9). Autonomous Drones Assist Security Team. NASA.

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October 2, 2022, from https://www-air.larc.nasa.gov/tools.htm

Competing in the 2022 NASA app challenge has been a unique hackathon journey which has positively impacted the team’s experience with app development. Through this challenge, we gained experience in no code frontend development and backend coding using HTML and Java Script. We also gained familiarity with a plethora of app creation platforms as well as drone programming systems like those involved with DJI. The Space Apps challenge allowed applicants freedom for creativity in how they could approach app development, meaning teams could choose topics they were experienced in and passionate about. The NASA Space Apps challenge also brings together people from across the world. Our team found strength in each other’s differences – though none of us know each other in-person, we formed a diverse team with members from across the world including the United States, Canada, France, Nepal, and India. This experience helped broaden our perspectives and allowed us to form connections with other innovative minds, building crucial and long-lasting bonds. 

Everyone in our team gravitated towards this challenge because of how the general lack of awareness of environmental hazards, most notably fires and dangerous levels of certain atmospheric gasses, affects each of our home countries. We also admired the current application NASA-FIRMS and wanted to create an app that would complement it. Our target audience is not only NASA scientists and environmental surveillance UAV pilots, but also civilians – we want everyone to have access to environmental awareness and safety. Thus, we have designed Fireproof as a mobile app which is accessible to both iOS and Android users, and will soon be available on a range of app installation platforms.

Elyssa has personally witnessed the detrimental health effects that resulted from a forest fire on Mount Charleston in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, which left a family friend’s health in a detrimental state. Additionally, in 2021, Nepal witnessed 6,799 wildfire incidents last year affecting all the states of the country; the government doesn't currently have a data tracker or app to alert people of risks, so Sam believes in the strength of expanding fireproof in the future to benefit the country. Furthermore, the team was impacted by the aftermath of the BC wildfire in 2021 which affected numerous communities across the coast. Several communities needed to be completely evacuated due to the growing fire, and countless individuals not only lost their houses, but also their memories of the land which they once called home. As soon as we formed a team, we connected on multiple different social media platforms and began work immediately with a kick start Zoom meeting. The first day of work was spent organizing a timeline for tasks and assigning those tasks to different people. We mapped out every day even down to the amount of hours we would spend per portion of the project. We wanted to tackle this as efficiently as possible. We approached this App design contest by first taking time to research NASA and other satellite data as well as current problems the whole world is facing – we wanted to know what we were doing before jumping in. We then approached the work in a collaborative manner, utilizing constant trial and error as well as group meetings and proofing.

Even with a motivated and talented group of people, we were no strangers to struggles along this journey. First, the time zone differences between team members made communication difficult and the ability to meet synchronously almost impossible. However, the dedication we all had for this project allowed us to overcome this obstacle; we were able to split up different tasks amongst team members, taking into account time zone and skill set. Three of us worked on the logo, presentation, application description, and future directions, while the other three worked on the no-code frontend and backend coding. We also met in the morning/afternoon in PST to maximize how many people could take part in the meetings synchronously. When we met synchronously, we would split into breakout rooms to work on our portions and then switch between them to check on the other half of the time and help them out with whatever they needed – all of us were versatile. The time constraint we had to complete this app resulted in several last-minute changes to both the composition and roles of the team as well as our ultimate product goal. However, what good innovators can’t improvise? We tackled this time crunch by simplifying our original prototype and providing an in-depth timeline of when the beta version and eventually public version of the app would be released. The creation and integration of the map also proved to be a more time-consuming task than we had imagined, as we aimed to find a wide range of data sets regarding hotspots and atmospheric content. Hotspot data proved to be a challenge to find, however we utilized both NASA FIREX-AQ data and data from credible outside sources to compile an accurate hotzone map which could then be integrated into the app. In addition to that, we faced many other small mishaps like cell towers being inconveniently taken down or computers crashing. But despite everything we managed to pull through and remain confident in our idea and are proud to be able to present it at the 2022 NASA Space Apps Challenge!

7 Wildfire Facts. (n.d.). One Tree Planted. Retrieved October 2, 2022, from

     https://onetreeplanted.org/blogs/stories/wildfire-facts

Facts + Statistics Wildfires. (n.d.). Insurance Information Institute. Retrieved October 2, 2022, from https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/Facts-statistics-wildfires

#drones, #interactive, #wildfire, #storytelling, #awareness, #statistics, #creative