Fifteen teams have advanced to the semifinal round of XPRIZE’s $5 million Autonomous Wildfire Response Track, moving one step closer to proving that autonomous systems can detect and extinguish wildfires within 10 minutes across 1,000 square kilometers of challenging terrain. Part of a four-year, $11 million global competition launched in 2023, the initiative seeks to spur breakthroughs in rapid-response firefighting technology as climate-driven wildfires grow more frequent and destructive.
Selected from a global pool, these teams represent a range of institutions, from defense contractors to university research labs and even a high school in California. Each presents a unique solution that blends robotics, artificial intelligence, and wildfire science.
“The convergence of exponential technologies such as AI, robotics, drones, and sensors offers us the opportunity to detect wildfires at inception, and put them out in minutes before they spread—that’s the mission of this XPRIZE,” said Peter H. Diamandis, Executive Chairman of XPRIZE, at the time of the competition’s launch in 2023.
Many of the semifinalists take a “system-of-systems” approach. AeroWatch, a Spain-based consortium, is integrating components from over a dozen partners to create a unified interface for fire managers. Crossfire, based at the University of Maryland, deploys scout UAVs for surveillance and “Firejumper” drones for suppression. Its system was validated in a live-fire demonstration earlier this year.
Others focus on scale and speed. Canada’s FireSwarm Solutions is developing heavy-lift drone swarms capable of operating at night. Germany’s Dryad combines solar-powered sensors with reconnaissance and suppression UAVs to detect fires at the smoldering stage. Meanwhile, Anduril, a U.S. defense tech firm founded by Oculus VR’s Palmer Luckey, is fielding its AI-enabled Lattice OS platform paired with advanced sensor towers and aerial reconnaissance.
Student-led teams are also in the mix. Wildfire Quest, from Valley Christian High School in San Jose, has built a solar-powered, self-replenishing drone system with an expandable suppression network. RAINDROPS, a collaboration between Norwegian and American universities, is piloting a low-cost system-of-systems architecture designed for global scalability.
This summer, the XPRIZE Wildfire team will visit each semifinalist’s test site to evaluate the systems in live field conditions. These trials will assess technical readiness, safety, connectivity, and resilience in real-world settings, including high heat, wind, and complex terrain. The Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration will oversee data capture for judging.
The stakes are high. According to XPRIZE, Extreme Wildfire Events now account for over 80% of fire-related damages worldwide.
“With over 30 years of experience in fire management, I’ve seen firsthand how devastating wildfires can be,” said Shawna Legarza, former director of fire and aviation at the USDA Forest Service, in the 2023 launch statement. “To better protect our land and ourselves, we need to change the way we detect and manage wildfires now.”
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