Software

Detection Explorer: A research interface for satellite fire detections

RMIT University, Australia

Karin Reinke (Aggregated by) Nur Fajar Trihantoro (Aggregated by) Simon Jones (Aggregated by)

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ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2FANDS&rft_id=info:doi10.25439/rmt.33716935.v1&rft.title=Detection Explorer: A research interface for satellite fire detections&rft.identifier=10.25439/rmt.33716935.v1&rft.publisher=RMIT University, Australia&rft.description=Detection Explorer is a map interface and API for comparing satellite fire detections. The map contains observation time, sensor resolution, source-pixel footprint and ground context in the same view, making the trade-off between frequent geostationary observations and finer polar-orbiting observations easier to see.This record archives the version 1.0.1 source release. Installation, configuration and usage instructions are in README.md inside the archive.What is included: A fixed historical scene over New South Wales and the ACT (9 April 2026, 04:00–05:00 UTC) that runs from bundled fixtures without credentials. It pairs six BRIGHT frames from Himawari-9 AHI with two VIIRS overpasses (Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20).A rolling Current scene for live-capable providers when their credentials and network services are available.Digital Earth Australia, NASA FIRMS and optional BRIGHT detections in a common API schema.True-scale, reconstructed or nominal satellite pixel footprints, each labelled with how it was derived and its limitations.Burned area, fuel, land-cover, administrative-boundary and optional current-weather layers.GeoJSON and CSV export for the selected scene.The polygons are satellite pixel footprints, not fire perimeters. Polar footprints are experimental because a FIRMS record does not indicate which side of the satellite's ground track the observation was made from.RequirementsPython 3.11 or newer; Node.js 22 (22.22.2 or later), 24 (24.15 or later) or 26 and newer, with npm; and a modern browser with WebGL support. The historical scene works without provider keys or the external BRIGHT pipeline, which is not distributed with this release.Safety noticeDetection Explorer is research software, not an operational fire-warning, emergency-management or safety system. Data and derived footprints may be incomplete, delayed or incorrect. Do not use it as the sole basis for decisions; verify information against authoritative data and official emergency-service advice.Licence and reuseCopyright © 2026 RMIT University. Detection Explorer is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC 4.0). The licence permits sharing and adaptation for noncommercial purposes, provided that users give appropriate credit, link to the licence and indicate whether changes were made. Commercial use requires separate written permission from RMIT University. For reuse or commercial-licensing enquiries, contact Professor Simon Jones, Centre for Remote Sensing, School of Science (Geospatial Science), RMIT University, at [email protected] licence applies only to material for which RMIT University is the rights holder. Third-party data, services and software retain the terms identified in THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md and their source metadata.How to citeIf you use or adapt the software, please cite this record using its DOI: https://doi.org/10.25439/rmt.33716935. Please also cite:Engel, C. B., Jones, S. D., & Reinke, K. J. (2021). Real-time detection of daytime and night-time fire hotspots from geostationary satellites. Remote Sensing, 13(9), 1627. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13091627Engel, C. B., Jones, S. D., & Reinke, K. (2021). A seasonal-window ensemble-based thresholding technique used to detect active fires in geostationary remotely sensed data. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 59(6), 4947–4956. https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2020.3018455Engel, C. B., Jones, S. D., & Reinke, K. J. (2022). Fire radiative power (FRP) values for Biogeographical Region and Individual Geostationary HHMMSS Threshold (BRIGHT) hotspots derived from the Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI). Remote Sensing, 14(11), 2540. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14112540Trihantoro, N. F., Reinke, K., & Jones, S. (in preparation). Beyond hotspot points: native pixel footprints and reliability indicators for multi-sensor active-fire observations.AcknowledgementThis work was supported by the RMIT Impact Starter Grant (ISG), with acknowledgement to the Redback Fire XPRIZE team.Suggested acknowledgement: Detection Explorer was developed by Nur Fajar Trihantoro, Karin Reinke and Simon Jones at the Centre for Remote Sensing, RMIT University, with support from the RMIT Impact Starter Grant (ISG).&rft.creator=Karin Reinke&rft.creator=Nur Fajar Trihantoro&rft.creator=Simon Jones&rft.date=2026&rft_rights= https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/&rft_subject=Photogrammetry and remote sensing&rft_subject=Geospatial information systems and geospatial data modelling&rft_subject=Natural hazards&rft_subject=active fire detection&rft_subject=fire detections&rft_subject=satellite observations&rft_subject=hotspots&rft_subject=remote sensing&rft_subject=geostationary satellites&rft_subject=Himawari AHI&rft_subject=VIIRS&rft_subject=MODIS&rft_subject=pixel footprints&rft_subject=geospatial software&rft_subject=New South Wales&rft.type=Computer Program&rft.language=English Access the software

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Full description

Detection Explorer is a map interface and API for comparing satellite fire detections. The map contains observation time, sensor resolution, source-pixel footprint and ground context in the same view, making the trade-off between frequent geostationary observations and finer polar-orbiting observations easier to see.

This record archives the version 1.0.1 source release. Installation, configuration and usage instructions are in README.md inside the archive.

What is included:

A fixed historical scene over New South Wales and the ACT (9 April 2026, 04:00–05:00 UTC) that runs from bundled fixtures without credentials. It pairs six BRIGHT frames from Himawari-9 AHI with two VIIRS overpasses (Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20).
A rolling Current scene for live-capable providers when their credentials and network services are available.
Digital Earth Australia, NASA FIRMS and optional BRIGHT detections in a common API schema.
True-scale, reconstructed or nominal satellite pixel footprints, each labelled with how it was derived and its limitations.
Burned area, fuel, land-cover, administrative-boundary and optional current-weather layers.
GeoJSON and CSV export for the selected scene.

The polygons are satellite pixel footprints, not fire perimeters. Polar footprints are experimental because a FIRMS record does not indicate which side of the satellite's ground track the observation was made from.

Requirements

Python 3.11 or newer; Node.js 22 (22.22.2 or later), 24 (24.15 or later) or 26 and newer, with npm; and a modern browser with WebGL support. The historical scene works without provider keys or the external BRIGHT pipeline, which is not distributed with this release.

Safety notice

Detection Explorer is research software, not an operational fire-warning, emergency-management or safety system. Data and derived footprints may be incomplete, delayed or incorrect. Do not use it as the sole basis for decisions; verify information against authoritative data and official emergency-service advice.

Licence and reuse

Copyright © 2026 RMIT University. Detection Explorer is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC 4.0). The licence permits sharing and adaptation for noncommercial purposes, provided that users give appropriate credit, link to the licence and indicate whether changes were made. Commercial use requires separate written permission from RMIT University. For reuse or commercial-licensing enquiries, contact Professor Simon Jones, Centre for Remote Sensing, School of Science (Geospatial Science), RMIT University, at [email protected].

The licence applies only to material for which RMIT University is the rights holder. Third-party data, services and software retain the terms identified in THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md and their source metadata.

How to cite

If you use or adapt the software, please cite this record using its DOI: https://doi.org/10.25439/rmt.33716935. Please also cite:

Engel, C. B., Jones, S. D., & Reinke, K. J. (2021). Real-time detection of daytime and night-time fire hotspots from geostationary satellites. Remote Sensing, 13(9), 1627. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13091627
Engel, C. B., Jones, S. D., & Reinke, K. (2021). A seasonal-window ensemble-based thresholding technique used to detect active fires in geostationary remotely sensed data. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 59(6), 4947–4956. https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2020.3018455
Engel, C. B., Jones, S. D., & Reinke, K. J. (2022). Fire radiative power (FRP) values for Biogeographical Region and Individual Geostationary HHMMSS Threshold (BRIGHT) hotspots derived from the Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI). Remote Sensing, 14(11), 2540. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14112540
Trihantoro, N. F., Reinke, K., & Jones, S. (in preparation). Beyond hotspot points: native pixel footprints and reliability indicators for multi-sensor active-fire observations.

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the RMIT Impact Starter Grant (ISG), with acknowledgement to the Redback Fire XPRIZE team.

Suggested acknowledgement: "Detection Explorer was developed by Nur Fajar Trihantoro, Karin Reinke and Simon Jones at the Centre for Remote Sensing, RMIT University, with support from the RMIT Impact Starter Grant (ISG)."