Developed under the Altice Labs@UA program, which fosters joint projects between the University of Aveiro and Altice Labs, the SAFER-Fire project aimed to research and prototype an early fire detection system for residential environments.
Running from February 2024 to March 2025, and initiated by Carlos Couto, Auxiliary Researcher at the University of Aveiro’s Civil Engineering Department, the project explored the application of YOLO (You Only Look Once) Machine Learning algorithms for computer vision-based fire detection. The results, detailed in the article “Machine-learning aided fire detection systems – an opportunity for early response and improved safety” published in the ninth edition of InnovAction magazine, proved highly valuable in creating a system capable of rapidly identifying early-stage fire outbreaks.
Following the project’s success, Altice Labs’ New Product Incubation team integrated the SAFER-Fire prototype into the Connected Home environment. This enables fire detection events to trigger multimedia geo-referenced notifications, displayed on MEO Android TV set-top boxes and Android smartphones. The end-to-end system, currently showcased at Future Labs, has also been the subject of a scientific paper that is expected to be published in a specialized journal or presented at an international conference.
The SAFER-Fire project, along with all research initiatives stemming from this partnership with the University of Aveiro, highlights the value of investing in an innovative ecosystem that drives the development of disruptive safety solutions.