IRO Journals
IRO Journal on Sustainable Wireless Systems

Towards Intelligent Wildfire Detection: A Review of Hybrid WSN, AI, UAV, and IoT-Based Monitoring Systems

Open Access
Published: 31 July, 2026
Pages: 236-252
  • Aswin A. , Aswin A.
    Student, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Kuppam Engineering College, Kuppam, India
    Student, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Kuppam Engineering College, Kuppam, India
  • Thulasi Ram E. , Thulasi Ram E.
    Student, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Kuppam Engineering College, Kuppam, India
    Student, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Kuppam Engineering College, Kuppam, India
  • Lokesh Kumar Reddy K. , Lokesh Kumar Reddy K.
    Student, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Kuppam Engineering College, Kuppam, India
    Student, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Kuppam Engineering College, Kuppam, India
  • Pavan Kumar K. , Pavan Kumar K.
    Student, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Kuppam Engineering College, Kuppam, India
    Student, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Kuppam Engineering College, Kuppam, India
  • Ajay Kumar Reddy P. Ajay Kumar Reddy P.
    Associate Professor, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Kuppam Engineering College, Kuppam, India
    Associate Professor, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Kuppam Engineering College, Kuppam, India
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How to Cite

A., Aswin, Thulasi Ram E., Lokesh Kumar Reddy K., Pavan Kumar K., and Ajay Kumar Reddy P. 2026. “Towards Intelligent Wildfire Detection: A Review of Hybrid WSN, AI, UAV, and IoT-Based Monitoring Systems”. IRO Journal on Sustainable Wireless Systems 8 (3): 236-52. https://doi.org/10.36548/jsws.2026.3.008.
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Keywords

Wildfire Detection
Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN)
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV)
Internet of Things (IoT)
Machine Learning
Environmental Monitoring
Smart Sensor Systems
Disaster Management

Abstract

The problem of wildfires has become more common, leading to environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity, economic losses, and hazards to people’s lives. The necessity to detect such wildfires quickly and effectively has led to the development and implementation of intelligent solutions that overcome the drawbacks of traditional approaches. This research study provides an analysis of the recent developments in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-based wildfire monitoring systems along with the underlying communication technologies and open source datasets used for intelligent fire detection. It has been found from the reviewed research papers that the technologies offer distinct advantages in terms of distributed sensing, communication, aerial imaging, and intelligent data analysis; nevertheless, the implementation of individual technology has certain limitations in terms of scalability, energy consumption, communication reliability, and adaptability. The analysis reveals that hybrid architectures integrating WSNs, IoT, UAVs, and AI make efficient use of the inherent capabilities of each technology to enhance accuracy in detection, coverage in monitoring, awareness in situational assessment, and decision-making. Lastly, this research study explores the critical research gaps, presents emerging challenges, and identifies promising areas for future research in wildfire monitoring.

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