We're teenagers from Kelowna. We've been evacuated for wildfire. We decided to do something about it.
Wildfire smoke kills 1.5 million people every year. The technology to detect fires in their first minutes already exists, but it's locked behind corporate paywalls. Our BioBot Habitat Sensor detects smoke through physical obstruction at nearly 7 meters in under 3 minutes. We've tested it with real controlled burns and published every data point.
Now we're releasing the full design as open-source hardware. Not because we can't build a company around it. Because a company would protect one forest at a time. An open-source community can protect all of them at once.
Real fire. Real data. Open data.
Controlled burn test. Sensor obstructed by a sled and container at 6.78m. Fire lit at 17:30. Every reading is published as open CSV for anyone to verify.
BioBot Habitat Sensor
Six components. Three sensor types. One open-source PCB. Everything published under CERN Open Hardware and MIT licenses.
You don't have to be an engineer.
Open-source means open to everyone. We need hearts, brains, hands, and voices. You might be a student, a parent, a teacher, a park ranger, or a retired firefighter. If you care about protecting forests, there's a place for you here.
“Crowdsourcing isn’t just about code. It’s about bringing together every skill that matters: the engineer who optimizes the circuit, the mother who shares the mission at school pickup, the student who runs our Instagram, the grant writer who funds the next 100 sensors, and the project manager who keeps it all moving. That’s how a community solves what a company can’t.”
People like you are already making a difference:
Help us solve these.
We publish every problem we can't solve yet. You pick one, build something better, and if it works, it becomes the new standard. That's how open-source wins.
Outreach & Storytelling
No technical skills needed. If you can write, talk, or share, you can make a massive difference.
Social Media & Content
Help us run Twitter/X, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Turn fire test data into stories that make people care. Share deployment stories and community wins.
Partnership Outreach
Connect us with park rangers, forestry departments, conservation NGOs, and university research labs. One warm introduction can lead to hundreds of deployed sensors.
Grant Writing
We've identified NatGeo, Mozilla MOSS, Google.org, NSERC, and Hackaday Prize as targets. Help write compelling grant applications. Good writing, not code, is what we need.
Community & Education
Help BioBot reach people in every language, every classroom, and every community.
Translation & Localization
Our docs and build guide are in English. Help us reach communities worldwide by translating into Spanish, Portuguese, French, Turkish, Japanese, or any language you speak.
Classroom Curriculum
Design a lesson plan that lets a high school or university class build BioBot sensors as a STEM project. Include learning objectives, assessment rubrics, and a materials budget.
Project Management
Help coordinate volunteers, track tasks across lanes, run weekly community calls, and keep the Discord organized. The glue that holds an open-source project together.
Data & Analysis
Turn raw sensor readings into intelligence. Requires some data skills but not hardware expertise.
Grafana Dashboard Templates
Build beautiful, ready-to-use Grafana dashboards that any deployer can connect to their BioBot data endpoints. Include fire alert thresholds and historical trend panels.
Multi-Forest Calibration Data
We have calibration data for BC pine forests. We need data from boreal, tropical, Mediterranean, and eucalyptus environments. Deploy a sensor and share your readings.
Fire Detection Algorithm
Our BME688 gas sensor needs to distinguish wildfire smoke from diesel exhaust, cooking smoke, and pollen. All raw test burn data is published. Can you train a better model?
Cloud & Infrastructure
Backend systems that connect sensors to dashboards. Python, Node.js, or AWS experience helpful.
AWS Cloud Migration
We're moving our sensor data API to AWS. Help us architect the right stack (EC2 vs Lambda, RDS vs DynamoDB) for time-series sensor data at scale with minimal cost.
API & Data Pipeline
Build the FastAPI backend that ingests sensor data, stores it in TimescaleDB, runs alert logic, and serves the dashboard. Docker compose for self-hosting.
Hardware & Firmware
The deep technical challenges. Embedded systems, PCB design, and radio engineering.
Weatherproof Enclosure
Design an IP65+ enclosure that costs under $5, survives -30C to +50C, and is printable on a consumer 3D printer. Current STL files are on GitHub for you to improve.
LoRa Mesh Firmware
Meshtastic works but draws too much power. Build custom low-power LoRa firmware that maintains mesh relay capability with sub-100 microamp average current draw.
Power Optimization
Our prototype lasts ~3 weeks without solar. We need 6 months. Optimize firmware sleep cycles, propose alternative MCUs, or design a better solar harvesting circuit for shaded forest canopy.