Ground-based sensors designed for smoke detection consist of various sensor types strategically deployed in forest areas. These networks primarily focus on detecting smoke particles, a critical early indicator of forest fires. Optical smoke detectors, which operate on light-scattering principles, and ionization detectors for detecting ion concentration changes due to smoke, are commonly used
[36,37][28][29]. Additionally, sensors for particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide are incorporated for enhanced detection accuracy
[38][30]. Kadir et al.
[39][31] integrated commonly used sensors for fire detection, such as temperature, smoke, haze, and carbon dioxide, to determine the location and intensity of fire hotspots. This multi-sensor approach yields more accurate results than using a single sensor. Ground-based sensor networks are typically wired systems with fixed sites, making their deployment and connection relatively complex. Building upon this, some scholars have researched wireless sensor networks (WSNs), which operate through interconnected wireless communication nodes, thereby offering greater flexibility in terms of deployment and coverage area. Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) consisting of interconnected sensors capable of detecting temperature, smoke, and changes in humidity have been increasingly used for early forest fire smoke detection. Benzekri et al.
[40][32] proposed an early forest fire detection system based on wireless sensor networks (WSNs), which collects environmental data from sensors distributed within the forest and employs artificial intelligence models to predict the occurrence of a forest fire. These sensors and networks offer continuous monitoring and can provide valuable data for fire prediction models. Nonetheless, maintenance and energy consumption are challenging aspects of ground-based sensors.
Over the past decade, UAVs have seen an increase in their utilization due to their advantages, such as flexibility, high resolution, and the quality of data acquired. UAVs equipped with sensors and cameras offer a promising approach for forest fire detection. These UAVs, outfitted with cameras, are adept at obtaining visual evidence of smoke and flames in treacherous terrains. Yuan et al.
[41][33] proposed a method for automatically detecting forest fires in infrared images using UAVs. This algorithm employs brightness and motion cues, combining image processing techniques based on histogram segmentation and the optical flow method for flame pixel detection. Complementing this, the integration of specialized gas sensors
[42[34][35],
43], such as those for detecting carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide, enhances UAVs’ capability to discern and scrutinize the constituents of smoke. These systems offer real-time data and high-resolution imagery and can access remote areas. However, UAVs, characterized by their high-speed mobility and varying distances of capture, often pose challenges for existing algorithms, such as difficulties in recognizing small target smoke and distinguishing between target and background.
The amalgamation of UAV technology with cutting-edge image processing methods has emerged as a current trend of significant interest. This integration capitalizes on the UAVs’ capability to swiftly reach remote or otherwise inaccessible areas, while simultaneously employing advanced and superior image processing techniques to achieve the real-time and precise detection of forest fire smoke. However, the challenges of detecting small targets amidst complex backgrounds in smoke detection tasks impose stringent demands on the performance of image processing algorithms employed in UAV-based smoke detection. Additionally, distinguishing actual smoke from objects that resemble smoke presents a significant hurdle. Therefore, image processing algorithms applied in UAV-based smoke detection are of paramount importance.
3. Image Processing Approaches for Smoke Detection
The development of image processing algorithms has enabled the detection of forest fires through cameras and other visual data sources. Techniques such as color analysis, motion detection, and smoke pattern recognition are employed. However, these methods can be prone to false alarms due to environmental factors, like fog or dust. In response to this, numerous experts have conducted various studies. Smoke detection methods based on image processing primarily fall into two categories: traditional image processing techniques and deep learning-based image processing approaches.
3.1. Conventional Image Processing Approaches
Conventional image processing for smoke detection methods primarily rely on the spectral characteristics of smoke. These methods include visual interpretation, multi-threshold techniques, pattern recognition algorithms, and other similar methods. Visual interpretation employs three spectral bands of a satellite sensor, representing red, green, and blue channels, to generate true-color or false-color composite images, enabling manual visual discrimination of smoke. For instance, the true-color RGB imagery synthesized from MODIS bands 1, 4, and 3 has been used in conjunction with the false-color imagery composed of bands 7, 5, and 6
[46][38]. For seasoned individuals, visual interpretation serves as an effective technique for identifying smoke. However, this method has a significant drawback in that it cannot automatically process vast amounts of data. The multi-threshold method retrieves the localized optimal thresholds of reflectance or brightness temperature (BT) from established spectral bands based on historical data. These thresholds are subsequently amalgamated to eliminate cloud classes and certain ground objects, ultimately enabling the identification of smoke. For example, Li et al.
[47][39] proposed a targeted identification approach using Himawari-8 satellite data, incorporating a connectivity domain distance weight based on multi-threshold discrimination to detect fog beneath clouds. This method exhibits high accuracy in the detection of sea and land fogs and, with limited error introduction, can effectively discern some instances of fog beneath clouds. While this approach can be effective in local areas, it poses challenges in determining the optimal threshold due to the variability of spatio-temporal information. As a result, small smoke ranges are prone to being overlooked, leading to a decrease in the promptness of fire alarms. In addition, Jang et al.
[48][40] analyzed the variations in light scattering distributions of different colored smokes, assessing the color classification methods of smoke particles entering the smoke detectors to extract color information from the smoke, enabling the detection of fire smoke. Nevertheless, this approach overlooks the fact that certain smoke colors (such as black or gray) resemble the background environment (e.g., clouds and dust). The smoke detection method that uses a pattern recognition algorithm is an image processing technique that leverages the spectral features of smoke and typical ground objects to categorize smoke images and identify smoke pixels. Asiri et al.
[49][41] developed a new feature space to represent visual descriptors extracted from video frames in an unsupervised manner. This mapping aims to provide better differentiation between smoke-free images and those depicting smoke patterns. This method employed training samples from a few classes, such as cloud and water, in addition to smoke. Despite its utility, the effectiveness and applicability of these smoke detection methods may be diminished when applied to diverse and intricate categories found in UAV imagery. This limitation becomes particularly evident in areas such as mountains and forests, where only a limited number of standard ground object categories are taken into account.
Most conventional image-based smoke detection algorithms utilize a pattern identification process that involves manual feature extraction and classification, where features are manually extracted and recognizers are designed. Following the extraction of candidate regions, static and dynamic smoke features are employed for smoke identification. Extracting the most crucial smoke features is challenging, and the detection process is relatively sluggish.
3.2. Deep Learning-Based Image Processing Approaches
In recent years, the domain of deep learning has witnessed notable advancements owing to progress in hardware capabilities, the capacity to handle extensive datasets, and substantial enhancements in network architectures and training methodologies. Deep learning-based smoke detection algorithms can be classified into two-stage methods and one-stage methods. Two-stage methods include well-known representatives, such as R-CNN
[28][42] and Faster R-CNN
[26][43]. On the other hand, one-stage methods are exemplified by algorithms like SSD
[27][44] and the YOLO series
[29,30,31,32][45][46][47][48]. The development of these deep learning technologies has provided a solid foundation and technical support for UAV-based forest fire smoke detection.
3.3. Deep Learning-Based Approaches for UAV-Based Smoke Detection
Numerous deep learning-based techniques have been utilized to discern smoke in UAV-based scenarios. Alexandrov et al.
[50][49] employed two one-stage detectors (SSD and YOLOv2) as well as a two-stage detector (Faster R-CNN) for smoke detection purposes. YOLOv2 outperformed Faster R-CNN, SSD, and traditional hand-crafted methods when evaluated against a large dataset of genuine and simulated images. Ghali et al.
[51][50] introduced a novel approach based on model ensemble, combining EfficientNet and DenseNet for accurately identifying and classifying forest fire smoke with UAV-based imagery. Mukhiddinov et al.
[52][51] proposed an early detection system for forest fire smoke using UAV imagery, employing an enhanced variant of YOLOv5. Additionally, several methods for small target detection in UAV-based settings have been proposed. Zhou et al.
[53][52] devised a small-object detector tailored specifically for UAV-based imagery, where the YOLOv4 backbone was modified to accommodate the characteristics of small-object detection. This adaptation, combined with adjustments made to the positioning loss function, yielded improved performance in small-object localization. Jiao et al.
[54][53] proposed a UAV aerial image forest fire detection algorithm based on YOLOv3. Initially, a UAV platform for forest fire detection was developed; subsequently, leveraging the available computational power of the onboard hardware, a scaled-down Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) was implemented utilizing YOLOv3. While these approaches demonstrate promising outcomes in object detection, they have yet to integrate real-time capabilities with high accuracy in the realm of forest fire smoke detection. Xiao et al.
[55][54] introduced FL-YOLOv7, a lightweight model for small-target forest fire detection. By designing lightweight modules and incorporating Adaptive Spatial Feature Fusion (ASFF), they enhanced the model’s capability to detect targets of various scales and its real-time performance. However, this method did not specifically target improvements for small-scale objects but rather improved the overall accuracy of evaluation results through feature fusion. Additionally, the evaluation metrics presented in their study were limited, lacking differentiated assessment indicators for targets of varying scales.