Pyrrha

Pyrrha

Hardware and software that monitors toxin exposure and provides alerts to firefighting teams when they battle wildfires

Hardware and software that monitors toxin exposure and provides alerts to firefighting teams when they battle wildfires

What is Pyrrha?

Pyrrha is an Internet-of-Things (IoT) and data science solution that measures environmental toxins and provides individualized recommendations based on real-time data and long-term exposure. It is the open source core of the Prometeo Platform that won the Call for Code Global Challenge in 2019.

Pyrrha in a nutshell

A two-way system that collects toxin readings, analyzes them, and sends actionable data back to the team.

A 3D printed sensor
  1. 1. The firefighter logs into the ruggedized Samsung smartphone via IBM App ID. Devices are paired through Bluetooth.

  2. 2. The device sensors capture toxin levels. The device sends stored readings to the phone at regular intervals.

  3. 3. The mobile application relays data to the IBM IoT platform.

  4. 4. The MQTT client service listens for incoming messages from the IBM IoT platform.

  5. 5. The MQTT client stores the data in the MariaDB relational database.

  6. 6. The MQTT client sends the data to the WebSocket server.

  7. 7. The Rules-Decision service wakes up every minute to calculate the 10 mins, 30 mins, 60 mins, 4 hours, and 8 hours time-weighted averages for each gas.

  8. 8. The dashboard queries the database to show the historical data.

  9. 9. The dashboard connects to the WebSocket Server to show live data and alerts the user if the levels go above certain pre-determined thresholds.

  10. 10. The command center can view the dashboard using the web browser on a laptop or tablet.

  11. 11. The mobile application regularly requests status from the Rules-Decision service and emits the result via device LED and Samsung phone/watch vibrations.

Pyrrha technology

Pyrrha device: Collects key data: carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, temperature, and humidity readings

Pyrrha device

Cloud dashboard: Shows real-time alerts and averages over time (10min, 30min, 1hr, 4hr, 8hr)

Prometeo dashboard

Pyrrha in action

Pyrrha v1 - Prometeo v3 field test with GRAF firefighters in Catalonia, 1Q 2021, building upon earlier tests of v2 in 1Q 2020.

pyrrha testing pic

Test goals:

  1. A. Collect data from firefighters during controlled burn
  2. B. Evaluate latest case design, size, weight, and ergonomics
  3. C. Assess feedback and suggestions from firefighters

Results:

  1. A. Stored temperature, humidity, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide readings from 10 firefighters over 2 days
  2. B. Studied case ergonomics, durability, reliability, and robustness metrics
  3. C. Captured design feedback and additional non-functional ideas for the device

Team

Meet the original Prometeo founders who brought this project to life.

Acknowledgments

  1. - Wildland firefighters GRAF and Bombers Catalunya/Catalonia for their mission to mitigate the effect of wildfires and for their inspiring message. Thank you for your help testing the end-to-end system in the field.
  2. - Call for Code and the Linux Foundation for their help and support.
  3. - Josep Ràfols for his contribution to the original Prometeo prototype.
  4. - Vicenç Ferres for defining smoke concentration parameters
  5. - Project OWL for help in product testing and code.