The Autonomous Emergency Thermal and High Elevation Drone
AETHER is a partially autonomous UAV system designed to support firefighters by providing situational awareness in high-risk environments. AETHER enables Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) reconnaissance during urban fires and disaster scenarios.
The modern fire response scene
In 2025, fire departments across the United States are experiencing increasing response times. For instance, in Greenbelt, Maryland, the average response time for fire-related calls rose from 4 minutes and 5 seconds in late 2024 to 4 minutes and 47 seconds by April 2025, a 42-second increase over ten months. Rescue call response times also increased by nearly 18% during the same period.
Nationally, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recommends a response time of 5 minutes and 20 seconds or less for 90% of fire incidents. However, many departments are struggling to meet this benchmark due to constraining factors like staffing shortages, increased call volumes, and urban traffic congestion.
A short history of fire-fighting drones
Firefighting drones have evolved rapidly over the past decade, moving from experimental tools to frontline assets in emergency response. Initially limited to basic aerial photography, today’s drones are equipped with thermal imaging, autonomous navigation, and real-time data transmission capabilities.
NASA’s ACERO (Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations) program builds on this progress by developing systems that allow drones to operate safely in complex wildfire environments, including at night or through dense smoke. A central innovation is the Portable Airspace Management System (PAMS), a suitcase-sized unit that manages drone and aircraft coordination in real time using ADS-B receivers and onboard radios. These technologies extend firefighting operations beyond daylight hours and reduce risks to human pilots, making ACERO a key step toward smarter, round-the-clock wildfire response.
What are the goals of the AETHER drone project?
AETHER started as a simple conversation with my professor, could a Raspberry Pi fly? Turns out it can, and a good deal of open source work has been accomplished by the maker community in assisting with that. So in the summer of 2024 I set out to learn the process and practice some engineering. The decision to develop in pursuit fire response came after a conversation with a family friend and fire marshal, and reading about NASA's efforts to aid wildfire response in the California fires.
AETHER is at its core a learning project. The entire platform is meant to incorporate as much interdisciplinary work as possible, from fire fighter psychology to computer science. I wanted this project to not just be about a drone, but about a process. Working in a team, writing documentation, applying for grants, using OpenCV, and practicing code were the top priorities.
By the start of the academic year 2024 AETHERs team grew to 2, and we worked to keep developing the platform. We've learnt a lot along the way, and a year later our team is still growing. We focus on learning as much as we can. We encourage those who choose to work on the AETHER project to learn new skills to add to the program, and to better themselves as engineers. AETHER is fully student researched and developed (SRAD). We are fully funded through grants which we practice writing. AETHER is and always will be open source, we always welcome new members who are interested in the project to participate and drive themselves to learn more.
UAS Development Branches
Hardware
Written documentation, links to purchased hardware, and design notes
Software
Written documentation, links to repositories, GitHub, and software for hardware integration
First Principals Thinking at SpaceX
FPT is a concept practiced by SpaceX, and is a leading reason for their incredible ability to innovate in a highly complex feild. FPT is the process of breaking down complex problems into fundamental truths.
- Identify assumptions "Thats how its always done"
- Break it down to fundamentals "what laws of physics, economics, and social constraints govern the problem"
- Re-build from scratch "create your solution from the fundamentals, not modification"
During the AETHER program First Principals Thinking allows us to solve the problems we encounter. SpaceX has been an inspiration to me for years, and their mentality serves all engineers in building better.
