Sensitive and Specific Detection of Early Warning Fire Signatures

An airborne fire is one of the most dreaded emergencies, as all pilots will acknowledge. Isolated at high altitudes, a fire-induced loss of systems can disable the aircraft beyond control. The space shuttles and the International Space Station face an even worse predicament. While an aircraft can land on a short notice, spacecraft are totally vulnerable. Existing fire sensors detect smoke or flame, indicating that the fire is in a relatively advanced stage, but these systems produce false alarms 199 times out of 200. Intelligent Optical Systems (IOS) proposes to develop a fire onset detection system (FODS) that will: (a) detect fire at a very early stage, without false alarm, by performing trend analysis on key chemical markers and temperature, and (b) provide a continuous status update for intelligent decision making by the crew. In Phase I, IOS established the feasibility of FODS by detecting 50 ppm of carbon monoxide. In Phase II, the project team will develop and test a compact FODS prototype. This prototype system will have the capability to react to several fire markers simultaneously with a high level of reliability.