sustainability

The district of Görlitz is one of five model regions 

Since September 2022, the ENO has been part of the 5G project "Forest Watchman" on behalf of the district of Görlitz. We took over the project coordination on behalf of the district of Görlitz.

The district of Görlitz is one of the winners in the 5G innovation competition of the Federal Ministry of Transport. The BMDV launched this competition to promote the development of 5G applications under real environmental conditions. The project idea is to make a contribution to forest health, ie to detecting and fighting forest fires and pest infestation, with the help of 5G networked sensor technology, stationary and automatic monitoring systems on fire lookout towers and the use of drones. This concept convinced the jury and in January 2022 the consortium received the coveted implementation funding of 4 million euros from the Federal Minister of Transport.

The award-winning concept for the development of 5G application scenarios will now be advanced and implemented over a project period of three years. In order to be able to identify a potential source of a forest fire, the stationary camera technology on the fire lookout towers enables the detection of different wavelength ranges both in the visible light range and in the infrared range. The sensors in use continuously record several parameters such as temperature, air humidity and soil moisture or detect smoke gas. All data is transmitted to a central control server via 5G mobile communications, where it is recorded and validated. Various AI modules are used to analyze them and, if necessary, to identify anomalies such as smoldering fires, pest infestation or fire nests. On this basis, dangers and risks are recognized as quickly as possible, human decisions are supported and measures such as deletion or pest removal are initiated.  

Basically the same technique is used to detect a possible bark beetle infestation. However, it will be expanded to include extremely sensitive pheromone sensors, which are still under development, and the analysis of the so-called near-infrared range. The AI ​​is designed in such a way that the collected data can be used to deduce whether there is a risk of a potential bark beetle infestation. This assumption can then be checked and, if necessary, countermeasures can be initiated to prevent the beetle from spreading throughout a forest area.  

The following partners from science and industry are involved in this project: Brandenburg Technical University of Cottbus, Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, Fraunhofer IOSB-AST, Leibniz Institute for Innovative Microelectronics (IHP), Federal Forestry Company Lausitz, exelonix GmbH, GGS GmbH, Telekom, military training area Upper Lusatia and Vodafone. The project is to be completed by 2025.