They call it the Thunder Wasp.
It’s a sleek metal quadcopter drone with four rotors about half a person tall, just over three metres by three metres wide, that weighs 375 kg. A collaboration between five companies worldwide, including Squamish’s start-up FireSwarm, it has the ability to detect wildfire hot spots, collect water and then deliver a payload—all autonomously.
The technology is beginning to garner international attention as the Thunder Wasp moves into the semifinals of the XPRIZE Wildfire competition in Sweden.
“The future is here, which is exciting,” CEO Alex Deslauriers told The Squamish Chief.
“This is the first drone to market that has the ability to lift 300 to 400 kg with two hours of flight endurance thanks to our swarm algorithm.”
Following its recent performance in Sweden, FireSwarm is feeling confident that Thunder Wasps will become a routine part of fire suppression in Canada, which will fundamentally change how fires are fought.
They will now compete in mid-September against 15 other companies.
“It feels like we are going to change entirely how fires will be suppressed in the future. Helicopters and tankers will be attacking fires that are truly out of control, but with these machines pre-positioned in cities and First Nations, they will be able to attack in the golden hour before the fire gets out of control.”
Three weeks ago, FireSwarm overcame one of its development hurdles by obtaining a Transport Canada Special Flight Operating Certificate, which allows it to fly in Canadian airspace. Though they are autonomous, they have pilots who oversee their operation and receive data sent by the drone. One operator can oversee five Thunder Wasps.
FireSwarm is one of five companies responsible for the Thunder Wasp, contributing the algorithm that makes firefighting possible as well as the hardware (sensors, communication systems, radars etc.). When they sell it to customers fully prepared—they already have two drone operators lined up in Ontario and Prince George—it will then become known as a Fire Wasp.
“We’re the exclusive distributor of Thunder Wasps and the entire line of drones for the entire Americas, south to north. We’re fielding hundreds of calls a week for the sale of these machines from Chile right to Alaska.”
“We believe that even one of these machines could be useful in the early stages of a wildfire. If you imagine a tapestry of these machines pre-positioned across Canada, maybe 100 kilometres apart, as one fire is started, a machine could respond, and as the incident grows, more could be deployed.”
The competition in Sweden has been the perfect way to introduce the technology to the world.
“The timing was absolutely perfect for our innovation. When we started up in September 2023, the XPRIZE Wildfire competition was just being announced, and so we put our name in the hat and out of 400 companies, we were one of 29 selected to go, and the only Canadian company.”
The judging will occur in Sweden, where their collaborators ACC Innovations are based. Regardless of the results, their innovations are catching the attention of all the right people.
“This trip marked a key achievement for FireSwarm,” said David Thanh, COO. “It shows that our software isn’t tied to any one airframe. We can integrate quickly and effectively with new technology, which is exactly what’s needed to tackle fast-moving wildfire threats.”
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