Use case design for swarms of firefighting UAVs via mutual shaping

The climate crisis creates prolonged periods of droughts which lead to more frequent and intense wildfires. High-payload uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) can potentially be used in firefighting operations. To understand how they will be used, we contacted 15 firefighters from around the globe. They provided information about current firefighting operations, the current use of UAVs, and the challenges that they face. During this study, 18.5 hours of conversations were analysed from data that were captured in semi-structured interviews. Firefighters reported that they can use these UAVs in all stages of their operations from pre-event to post-event scenarios. They can use them to create vegetation maps and to identify hot spots or to assess the damage of wildfires. The most prominent use case was the deployment of the swarm of these UAVs to patrol for wildfires in high-risk areas over large periods of time and to directly engage wildfires in the first minutes of their outbreak. Finally, participants provided information about methods of interaction with such a system.