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CMU’s AI-Powered UAV Offers Cost-effective Innovation for Systematic Wildfire and PM2.5 Management

25 February 2026
Corporate Communication and Alumni Relations Center (CCARC)
Chiang Mai University has developed an AI–powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to monitor and detect wildfires quickly and accurately. Designed with low production costs and accessible power requirements, the drone can travel over 60 kilometers and transmit the exact location of incidents in real time via GPS, significantly enhancing surveillance capacity in high-risk areas. This innovation offers new hope for addressing the wildfire and PM2.5 crisis in the region through a more systematic approach.
As the crisis continues to intensify, UAVs operating in tandem with AI are emerging at the forefront of wildfire monitoring and detection. By improving accuracy, speed, and cost efficiency, the technology enables government agencies and local communities to access critical data that supports timely response and informed policy decision-making. It represents a promising step toward the systematic and sustainable management of haze and wildfires in the region.
Assistant Professor Dr. Phudinan Singkhamfu from the College of Arts, Media and Technology (CAMT) explained that this AI-powered breakthrough enables more comprehensive surveillance of high-risk areas with improved accuracy and responsiveness. Aerial photographs are used to train the AI model, allowing it to accurately identify the origins of fires and haze.
Thanks to its range of over 60 kilometers and an automated GPS-based notification system that alerts officers to incident locations in real time, operations in high-risk areas have become significantly more efficient. The drone is also designed to fly at lower altitudes to collect detailed data and generate high-resolution wildfire maps. The resulting imagery is comparable in quality to that produced by leading technologies currently available on the market.
A key advantage of this innovation lies in its accessibility. With a production cost of less than one million baht per unit, which is significantly lower than industrial-grade alternatives that can cost several million baht, this drone can be readily adopted by government agencies, local organizations, and communities. By reducing budget constraints, it helps optimize wildfire surveillance capacity in high-risk areas across Northern Thailand.
In terms of processing, snapshot images are sequenced and stitched together to form a larger composite image. AI technology is then used to automatically detect hotspots and identify the locations of incidents. The data can be compiled on a daily or hourly basis to support the operations of national park officials, community firefighters, and command centers, enabling more accurate and effective response planning.
Therefore, this AI-powered UAV system is not merely a piece of technology; it represents a new infrastructure for wildfire management in the region, integrating advanced technology, civic participation, and data-driven decision-making. It also underscores Chiang Mai University’s capacity to develop cost-effective innovations that directly address pressing challenges while generating positive policy impacts toward a sustainable resolution of Thailand’s wildfire and PM2.5 crisis.
This drone-based wildfire management innovation forms part of the PM2.5 prevention and mitigation mission led by the Academic Centre for Air Pollution in Northern Thailand (ACAir CMU) at Chiang Mai University.
For more information, there is a video on YouTube. The channel is CAMT CMU and the video will include ‘AI Drone’ in the title. The actual website is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCwU7MLDlZM

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