Artificial intelligence to help prevent and combat forest fires

Rotenburg a. d. Fulda, October 8, 2025

Numerous firefighters, experts and representatives from politics and administration gathered at the Alheimerhütte in Rotenburg a. d. Fulda, Hesse, on Wednesday to watch the test flights of drones as part of the KIWA ("AI-based forest monitoring") project

Shortly after the event began, the guests could already see smoke and a fire on the screens prepared for it - this was prepared in a controlled manner by the Rotenburg a. d. Fulda volunteer fire brigade to demonstrate AI-based forest firefighting. A special drone equipped with thermal imaging and optical sensors detected the source of the fire within a few seconds and sent the data in real time to the corresponding cosma21 data platform - a digital infrastructure that the city has been operating for some time as part of its Smart City activities and funded by the Hessian Ministry for Digitalisation and Innovation.

Tobias Heuser from the Munich-based company [ui!] Urban Mobility Innovations GmbH explained how the KIWA system works and clearly demonstrated how the combination of artificial intelligence, drone technology and a municipal data platform can help to detect fires or changes in forest health at an early stage in the future.

"The drones are not controlled by artificial intelligence, but are flown manually or pre-programmed," explained drone pilot Stefan Wurmser from Quantum Systems. This company provides the drone technology for the KIWA project. Artificial intelligence is used to recognise potential dangers. Scientific support is provided by the Deggendorf Institute of Technology, the University of Bayreuth and the State Fire Service School in Würzburg.

Source: hessenschau | 08.10.25

The town of Rotenburg applied to become a real-world laboratory in 2024 to test innovative, intelligent and digital methods for forest fire prevention. Due to its exposed location in Waldhessen, its logistics and the existing digital infrastructure, the town with around 13,000 inhabitants was ultimately selected and has since provided the location for testing the prevention measures. "With a forest share of around 42 per cent, Hesse is the most densely forested federal state in Germany. Protecting these valuable forests is one of our most important tasks," emphasised District President Mark Weinmeister. He also emphasised the importance of using the project results to support other municipalities in developing their own forest fire prevention strategies.

Rotenburg is one of the first towns in Germany to test the early detection of forest fires and general forest health using special drone technology. This KIWA project is being funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety for a period of three years until the end of 2025.

The transition from a research project to a real-life project using the data already collected is intended to result not only in technical and scientific findings as a result of the KIWA real-world laboratory - and to show Rotenburg a. d. Fulda useful ways for its future forest fire detection.

"Local disaster control starts with knowledge and preparation. AI and drone technology help to detect fires early on, but also to better predict heavy rain or flooding. The aim is to inform emergency services and citizens in good time and enable them to take action," explained Prof. Dr. Dr. e.h. Lutz Heuser, CEO of [ui!] Urban Mobility Innovations GmbH. To this end, Rotenburg will soon have a digital work platform that will enable the fire department, administration, control center, and other emergency services to respond in a coordinated manner in real time.

“Rotenburg a. d. Fulda shows how technology can be used responsibly—not for surveillance, but to protect our livelihoods,” Weinmeister summarized the findings of the meeting. Rotenburg's mayor, Marcus Weber, also emphasized that drones are unfortunately not currently making positive headlines. “However, our drones should have a positive added value for all of us,” he clarified.

In order to obtain sufficient data for analysis and further development of the drones and systems, the first test flights took place in June of this year. Rotenburg plans to introduce regular drone-based forest fire monitoring in 2026.

Contact:

Project KIWA
Konsortialführer: [ui!] Urban Mobility Innovations GmbH
Blütenstr. 15
D-80799 München
E-Mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Source: PM Projekt KIWA + Stadt Rotenburg a. d. Fulda