Home › Research › Prevention and risk
Ground robot technologies in wildfire risk reduction. The viewpoint of the fire service
Paweł Gromek, Thomas Löwe. Progress in Disaster Science, 2025-04-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background Robots are not widely used in wildfire risk reduction. Firefighters do not commonly know how to use them and technology providers are not aware of key operational directions for improvements. Objective This study aims to identify, catalogue and discuss directions for the development of robot technologies in terms of wildfire risk reduction. The viewpoint of the fire service is presented. Method Survey was conducted with experts to gather new knowledge on the use of robots in wildfire response and to identify inspiration for improvements for technology providers. Results 92 end-user-related developments were categorised into particular elements of wildfire response process. 31 development directions related to technology providers have been assigned to general robot functionalities: ensuring safety of firefighters, shaping situational awareness, and supporting firefighting systems. The robot functionality sets can be implemented in reconnaissance robots, delivery and evacuation robots, and firefighting robots. Conclusion Fire service perceives the robot use in wildfire risk reduction more broadly than is reflected by currently developed disaster robots and existing disaster risk reduction concepts. The viewpoint of the fire service can raise awareness among end-users and inspire technology providers to effectively and rationally implement robots for wildfire risk reduction.
Key findings
- Results 92 end-user-related developments were categorised into particular elements of wildfire response process. 31 development directions related to technology providers have been assigned to general robot functionalities: ensuring safety of firefighters, shaping situational awareness, and supporting firefighting systems.
Why it matters
This survey study gathered fire service perspectives on ground robot technologies for wildfire risk reduction. It contains no information relevant to Alzheimer's disease.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Prevention →
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 37/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Progress in Disaster Science) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | Progress in Disaster Science: journal h-index 54 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 2 / 7 | Cited 9 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 3.0 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 16.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 9 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 1 / 4 | Last-listed author Thomas Löwe: h-index 9 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation: institution h-index 949 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 37 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Gromek, P., & Löwe, T. (2025). Ground robot technologies in wildfire risk reduction. The viewpoint of the fire service. Progress in Disaster Science. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pdisas.2025.100435
Vancouver
Gromek P, Löwe T. Ground robot technologies in wildfire risk reduction. The viewpoint of the fire service. Progress in Disaster Science. 2025. doi:10.1016/j.pdisas.2025.100435.
BibTeX
@article{gromek2025-8cf2d0d9,
author = {Gromek, Paweł and Löwe, Thomas},
title = {{Ground robot technologies in wildfire risk reduction. The viewpoint of the fire service}},
journal = {Progress in Disaster Science},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1016/j.pdisas.2025.100435},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pdisas.2025.100435}
}