About 2,500 people still die each year in residential fires, but that number could be reduced with a smart fire alarm that can immediately distinguish between fires and nuisances. A team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Bruce Warmack of the Measurement Science and Systems Engineering Division is developing such an alarm. Warmack's cognitive alarm incorporates a microcontroller that utilizes a mathematical technique called linear discriminant analysis. This feature adds less than $1 to the cost but makes the alarm far more effective. The new alarm also features a carbon monoxide detector and an alert that sounds at a lower frequency shown to be more effective at awakening youngsters and the elderly. This research is being done at the request of the U.S. Fire Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Menu