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FIRE DEFENSE SYSTEM

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Location: Southeast of Palisades Drive, Pacific Palisades

[34.07022,-118.54453]/ Altadena Drive and Midwick Drive, Altadena/Pasadena [34.203483,-118.069155]

OUR INSPIRATION: Eaton & Palisades Fires

2,049

Structures Damaged

Residential, Commercial and Other

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16,256

Structures Destroyed

Residential, Commercial and Other

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31

Confirmed Civilian Fatalities

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12

Confirmed Civilian Injuries

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10

Confirmed Firefighter Injuries

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WILDFIRES ACROSS THE WORLD

  • Wildfires are growing in scale and frequency worldwide

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  • Burn seasons vary by region (Europe peaks June–August; Southern Australia later in the year)

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  • Africa has the highest burned area, with the same land often burning multiple times

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  • How fast a fire spreads depends on weather, fuel, and terrain conditions

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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF WILDFIRES

  • When wildfires burn vegetation, they release massive amounts of stored carbon into the atmosphere

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  • Scientists use satellite data to estimate annual emissions

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  • Wildfires emit about 5–8 billion tons of CO₂ each year; fossil fuels emit roughly 37 billion tons

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  • Healthy forests reabsorb wildfire CO₂ over time but fossil-fuel emissions don’t get reabsorbed

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  • Severe fire seasons spike weekly CO₂ levels and push the climate further off balance

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WILDFIRES AND

AIR POLLUTION

  • Burning biomass releases harmful pollutants into the air

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  • PM2.5, extremely fine particles, enters the lungs and bloodstream

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  • Exposure causes breathing and heart problems and weakens the immune system

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  • Long-term exposure damages lungs and raises cancer risk

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  • Stopping fires early protects not just structures, but human health

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OUR MISSION

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  • Reduce property and structural damage in fire-prone neighborhoods

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  • Slow the spread of fire to buy critical evacuation time

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  • Stall the fire so the fire department gets a head start

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  • Built for wildfire hazards zones homeowners in wildland–urban interface (WUI) zones

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INTRODUCING

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Who

TARDIGRADE DEFENSE

Helps

Homeowners in wildland–urban interface zones • evacuating families • first responders who need a head start • communities that want a smarter early-warning network.

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TARDIGRADE DEFENSE

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How it works:

DETECT — local sensors + satellite APIs spot a wildfire signature

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DECIDE — software confirms the threat (needs at least two triggers) and arms the system

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DEPLOY — water cannons saturate the roof and vegetation around the home before fire can cause damage

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ALERT — the homeowner and (future) fire department are notified

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TARDIGRADE DEFENSE

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The System:

FIRE RETARDANT — ensure it is safe for plant and animal life

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MECHANICAL DEPLOYMENT — water cannon, water tank, propane generator, and sprinkler system

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SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT — code to detect, decide, deploy, and alert owner

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FIRE RETARDANT

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Existing Solutions We Learned From

FIRE RETARDANT

Customer Success

  • PG&E has successfully applied Komodo as a Just-in-Time solution as wildfires approach throughout the Western US

Proven Effective

  • 100% of hundreds of Utility Company Assets survived exposure to multiple massive fires

Maintain Organization during the Frenzy

  • Environmentally safe “Phantom Blue” coloring allows Utility Company to track assets treated

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  • Certified by the USDA and US Forest Service in 2022

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  • Plant-based formula is non-toxic, non-carcinogenic, non-corrosive and safe for people, pets, plants, wildlife, and aquatic life

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HOW KOMODO WORKS

Case Study: PG&E

  • Komodo is applied to combustible materials (buildings and vegetation) before a fire arrives
  • It forms a protective coating that activates heat-triggered fire suppressants
  • The coating creates a barrier that reduces ignition and burning
  • Lesson for PANDO: pre-treating surfaces works but it has to be triggered automatically when no one is home

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MECHANICAL DEPLOYMENT

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CANNONS AND MOTORS

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  • Motor

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  • Driver

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  • Nozzle

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  • Power Supply
  • Stepper motor: drives precise cannon movement for maximum coverage

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  • Driver: lets our microcontroller (ESP) control the motor

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  • Nozzle: delivers the most effective spray pattern for property saturation

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  • Power supply: 12V 2A adapter delivers enough power for heavy use

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WATER CANNON

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WATER CANNON

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  • Covers up to 1,000 sq ft of roof and surrounding area

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  • Two joints enable full vertical and horizontal movement

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  • Rotates a full 360° to reach any side of the home

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  • Nozzle tilts 0–45° to saturate roofs, walls, and vegetation

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EXPLODED VIEW

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WATER TANK

❏ Underground water reservoir stores water and retardant mixture for emergency deployment

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❏ Integrated agitation system helps maintain uniform retardant concentration inside the tank

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❏ Tank placement located near rear property boundary to reduce interference with living space

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❏ Estimated storage range: 10,000–30,000 gallons depending on property size and protection requirements

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Sprinkler

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Water Cannon

Water Cannon

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PIPING SYSTEM

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❏ Central manifold distributes water to four independent cannon branches

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❏ Longer ~80-90 ft branches use 6 in piping to reduce friction losses over longer transport distances

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❏ Shorter ~30–40 ft branches use 3 in piping due to reduced flow distance requirements

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❏ Separate 1.25 in roof loop supports 2–4 gutter-mounted impact sprinklers

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Sprinkler (1.25-inch diameter)

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Water Cannon (6-inch diameter)

Water Cannon (3-inch diameter)

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WET ZONES

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❏ Wet zones reduce vulnerable dry ignition areas around the structure

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❏ Roof saturation system targets gutters, roof edges, walls, and nearby vegetation

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❏ Cannon coverage zones designed to create defensive moisture barriers around the property

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❏ Layered saturation strategy increases survivability while firefighters respond

Sprinkler

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Water Cannon

Water Cannon

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AGITATION

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❏ Recirculation-based jet agitation system designed to maintain uniform Komodo mixture concentration

❏ Directional mixing jets reduce settling and dead zones inside the tank

❏ Jet agitation chosen over large mechanical paddles due to improved scalability for 10,000–30,000 gallon storage volumes

❏ Agitation loop integrated with main pumping system to reduce additional power requirements

❏ Concept inspired by commercial hydroseeding and slurry circulation systems like those made by Turbo Turf

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HM-1000-T HYDROSEEDER

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SOFTWARE | HARDWARE

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DETECTION: Sensors

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  • GPS Sensor

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  • BME Sensor

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  • PMS Sensor
  • Adafruit Ultimate GPS provides accurate location data and works fully offline
  • Location data is needed for the satellite APIs to send the right region’s data
  • BME690 is a four-in-one air sensor (gas, temperature, pressure, humidity)
  • Detects VOC changes, a strong early signal of nearby wildfires
  • PMS5003 measures particulate matter which the most reliable wildfire indicator

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  • All were chosen for direct Raspberry Pi compatibility
  • Using multiple sensor types together reduces false alarms.

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DETECTION: APIs

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  • What is an API?

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  • NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS)

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  • AirNow API
  • An API is a way for our system to pull live data

from another organization’s database

  • Combining local sensors with cloud APIs makes PANDO smarter than either alone
  • NASA FIRMS gives near real-time satellite data on active fires and thermal anomalies
  • Updates every 5–15 minutes, fast enough to catch fires before they reach the property
  • AirNow API provides AQI, ozone, and particle pollution data
  • Updated hourly from 2,500+ monitors across the U.S

DETECT — local sensors + satellite APIs spot a wildfire signature.

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DECIDE — software confirms the threat (needs at least two triggers) and arms the system.

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DEPLOY — water cannons saturate the roof and vegetation around the home before fire can cause damage.

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ALERT — the homeowner and (future) fire department are notified.

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HARDWARE SYSTEM

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  • Raspberry Pi 5

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  • LoRa Radio

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  • ESP32

DECIDE —Raspberry Pi 5: the brain — runs core software and connects to sensors

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ALERT —LoRa Radio: long-range wireless link between the Pi and ESP32 modules

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DEPLOY —ESP32 (Heltec V3): microcontrollers inside each cannon that receive signals and drive the motors.

Flow: Sensors → Pi → LoRa → ESP32 → Motors

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PLANNING AND TESTING

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  • Computer Science team wrote the full software, organized into config, scripts, and sensor modules

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  • Tested each sensor individually and tuned thresholds to reduce false alarms

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SOFTWARE DETAILS

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  • Written in Python and C++ for both flexibility

and speed

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  • Using Meshtastic so the Pi and ESP32s can talk without Wi-Fi

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  • Each sensor has its own custom thresholds for spotting fire conditions

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  • The system arms ONLY when at least two triggers agree (sensors + APIs)

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  • Fail-safe checks prevent false positives from causing unwanted water damage

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HARDWARE SETUP

  • Our Pi will have a protective housing which also has vents for outside air access maximum coverage for our sensors
  • Our complete motor and ESP working circuit

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PROTOTYPE

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WHAT’S NEXT

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WHAT’S NEXT FOR

TARDIGRADE DEFENSE

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  • Scale up: Protect larger properties

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  • Neighborhood mesh: Homes share alerts via LoRa so a fire detected at one home warns the rest

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  • Auto-alert: Alert local fire departments when the system arms

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  • Solar + battery backup: Ability for TARDIGRADE DEFENSE to keep running during power outages

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  • Wind Sensor: Calculate wind speed to determine how fast the fire is approaching the property

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  • Mobile + Web app: Homeowners get real-time status and remote arm/disarm

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OFFICIAL MEDIA

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Tardigrade Defense Website

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Thank You!

Any Questions?

VIDEO RECORDING

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RESOURCES

Our World in Data — Wildfires (https://ourworldindata.org/wildfires)

Komodo Fire Systems FAQ (https://komodo-fire.com/pages/faq)

PG&E / Komodo demo video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_Iosh0h2HA)

CAL FIRE — California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (https://www.fire.ca.gov)

NASA FIRMS — Fire Information for Resource Management System (https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov)

AirNow API — U.S. EPA (https://docs.airnowapi.org)

Adafruit, Heltec, Bosch (BME690), Plantower (PMS5003) — component datasheets.

Mass Moment of Intertia Equations:- (http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/mi.html)

Engineering Toolbox Mass moment of Inertia: (https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/moment-inertia-torque-d_913.html)

Cannon Nozzle: (https://elkhartbrass.com/products/handline-nozzles/select-o-matic-xd/)

NEMA 17 Motor Data Sheet: (https://media.pbclinear.com/pdfs/pbc-linear-data-sheets/data-sheet-stepper-motor-support.pdf)

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