Aviotec: Video-based fire detection in darkness thanks to new AI algorithms

Grasbrunn – The video-based fire detection Aviotec IP starlight 8000 from Bosch can now be used in environments without visible light. With the help of newly developed AI algorithms for video analytics, Aviotec's firmware version 7.72 is now able to reliably detect smoke and flames even with pure infrared lighting. Up to now it was already possible with Aviotec to reliably detect flames and smoke in difficult lighting conditions down to a minimum of 2 Lux.

Expanded field of application for Aviotec

There are many applications in dark environments in which the new version of Aviotec offers an optimal solution for customers. Wherever there is a high fire hazard or a high fire load, for example in logistics and production, Aviotec in combination with IR-lighting is a suitable fire protection system to detect fires as they occur. Operators of warehouses that contain packaging material and are not illuminated at night or warehouses that have no lighting at all can benefit from this, for example, so that the risk of fire is significantly reduced from the outset due to lack of electricity. Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) does not require the installation of power lines for Aviotec. In conjunction with IR lighting, Aviotec's new firmware version also reduces the risk of fire in industries that work in two shifts and do not use conventional lighting at night. Aviotec also offers a reliable solution for aircraft hangars, where visible interior lighting has been deliberately omitted for reasons of burglary protection outside working hours. The same applies to archives with particularly valuable documents and correspondingly high fire load. In all these cases, Aviotec ensures a particularly fast and reliable fire detection, since fires can be detected directly at the source of the fire without the need for smoke to reach a fire detector.

"From daylight to poor lighting conditions to situations where there is no visible light at all - since the market launch of Aviotec in 2016, we have continuously been setting new benchmarks in video-based fire detection", comments Sören Wittmann, Product Manager at Bosch Building Technologies. "This means that this promising technology can now be used in almost all areas of fire protection."

Additional benefits of video surveillance and analysis

The intelligent video analytics is directly integrated into Aviotec. In all environments, the installed cameras can be used simultaneously for fire detection and video surveillance, further reducing the installation and operating costs considerably.

VdS and CSIRO TS010 certified solution

As the first solution for video-based fire detection, Aviotec has already passed the demanding test procedure of VdS Schadenverhütung GmbH in 2018. Not only functionality and reliability were confirmed, but also the high immunity against false alarms. In addition, Aviotec IP starlight 8000 received certification according to the Australian standard CSIRO TS010 for video-based fire detection systems in April 2019.

The firmware version 7.72 of Aviotec IP starlight 8000 is now available. Operators of existing Aviotec solutions can upgrade their system to the new version by a free firmware update.