Questions and answers
Firefighting drone questions. Answered plainly.
39 direct answers about FireFly: how the swarm works, who is in command, what is flying today and how to start a pilot.
The basics
What is FireFly?
FireFly is an autonomous drone swarm for fire response. It launches from a nest at the base or on the truck, sees the fire and people through smoke with thermal-LiDAR fusion, and keeps suppression going continuously: when one aircraft runs dry, a full one takes its place. A firefighter confirms every engagement.
How does a firefighting drone swarm work?
One mission in six steps: 1) a firefighter taps the fire on the live map; 2) the swarm launches from its nest and routes itself there; 3) thermal-LiDAR fusion finds the fire's core and any people through the smoke; 4) the firefighter confirms the engagement; 5) the aircraft form a ring and direct suppression at the hottest point; 6) when one runs dry it returns for a pod swap while a standby aircraft takes its slot. See it animated.
Can firefighting drones see through smoke?
Yes. A thermal camera sees heat rather than visible light, so it can show a fire and people through smoke that blinds an ordinary camera. FireFly pairs a long-wave thermal camera with LiDAR. Thermal sees heat through smoke: the fire's core, hot spots and people. LiDAR maps the structure in 3D. Fused together they put structure and heat in one picture, and an RGB camera with active image recognition marks fire, smoke and people for the operator.
Can FireFly find people in a fire?
Thermal imaging and onboard recognition mark people near windows and in the smoke, and their positions go to incident command. FireFly doesn't carry anyone out: its job is to arrive first and hand crews what is on the other side of the smoke. Search and rescue in hazardous zones is a future application we are not claiming yet.
How do the drones put a fire out?
Each aircraft carries a twin suppressant pod and a directed nozzle angled 45° down, and throws a cone at the hottest point from a fixed standoff. Working as a ring, the swarm keeps suppression continuous: suppression never stops for a refill. The agent is matched to the fire risk you face.
What happens when a drone runs out of suppressant?
The pit-stop relay: when an aircraft runs dry it breaks from the ring and returns to the nest, and a standby aircraft launches and takes its exact slot. The pod is swapped and the empty aircraft rejoins the rotation. Our design target for a pod swap is under three minutes. That's why suppression never stops.
How many drones are in a swarm?
One operator directs a coordinated swarm of five or more aircraft (design target). In a mission, five aircraft hold a ring around the fire with a standby ready to take any vacated slot.
How fast does the swarm launch?
Our design target is under 90 seconds from dispatch to airborne, launching automatically from a nest at the base or on the truck. That's a design target, not a measured result yet.
Where do the drones launch from?
FireFly launches from a nest, either at the base or on the truck. The nest launches the aircraft, swaps suppressant pods and keeps the swarm ready so the next aircraft is always waiting.
Does FireFly fly inside buildings?
No. FireFly works from outside: confirmed external suppression from a fixed standoff, never flying into the building.
Command and safety
Who controls the swarm?
A firefighter confirms every engagement. The physical transmitter outranks the software at every instant, and a lost link returns the aircraft rather than leaving it over your head. Autonomy is equipment on the truck, not a decision-maker on the fireground.
What happens if the radio link is lost?
Command authority stays on the local radio link, the physical transmitter outranks the software at every instant, and a lost link returns the aircraft rather than leaving it overhead. We don't publish security details beyond that.
Does FireFly need an internet connection?
No. Command runs on a local radio link that works with no internet at all. The 5G module opens the operator interface from anywhere with coverage, and lets any firefighter on scene open the live drone view on their phone. 5G adds reach; command authority stays on the local radio link, which works with no internet at all.
How does FireFly work with aviation rules?
We work inside each country's aviation and fire-service rules, with a written safety case before any live flight, and we intend to earn permission rather than ask for forgiveness. Beyond-line-of-sight operation is in development, with range validation at 500 m and 1 km next.
Is FireFly a military drone?
No. FireFly is designed for firefighting and emergency response. That's the only mission we build for.
Technology
What is inside the FireFly aircraft?
FireFly has eleven core systems: LiDAR, a 5G module, telemetry radio, the Fruit Fly Neurons AI Brain, a flight computer, battery, four brushless motors with their ESCs, a thermal camera, an RGB camera with active image recognition, and the extinguisher (twin pods and a directed nozzle). See the exploded view.
What is the Fruit Fly Neurons AI Brain?
The Fruit Fly Neurons AI Brain is FireFly's onboard AI computer. It runs perception and mission logic on the aircraft and advises the flight computer as a guest, never as its master: if the AI brain restarts, the flight computer keeps the aircraft flying and keeps every failsafe. That's our "two computers, one authority" design.
Where it is used
Where are firefighting drones used?
Four places where the first minutes are lost to smoke: wildfire (find the front and hold the line), industrial sites (on the roof before the crew is through the gate), high-rise and urban fires (external access to upper floors), and roads (first eyes on vehicle fires). See applications.
How does FireFly help with wildfires?
In wildfire, the swarm launches at the road and maps the perimeter in thermal through the plume, marks hot spots and spot fires ahead of the front, and, with a firefighter's confirmation, works hot spots in rotation so suppression never stops. More on wildfire.
How does FireFly protect industrial sites?
For industrial sites, a nest on site sends the swarm on an alarm or an operator's tap. Thermal views of the roof and openings show where the fire is heading, and confirmed ring suppression holds the fire while the brigade arrives. We're looking for sites willing to host a controlled pilot. More on industrial sites.
Can drones fight high-rise fires?
From outside the building, yes: that is one of the uses FireFly is designed for. In cities the fire is often above the ladder and behind the smoke. The swarm rises alongside the facade, scans each floor in thermal, reports people near windows to incident command, and applies confirmed external suppression from a fixed standoff. More on high-rise and urban fires.
Can drones respond to vehicle fires on roads?
On roads, the nearest nest launches to the reported location following the road, assesses the scene in thermal (burning vehicles, people, fuel on the road) and briefs the crew before they arrive. More on road emergencies.
Status and working with us
Is FireFly flying today?
A single-aircraft demonstrator is flying today; the full swarm is not yet. Our flying demonstrator is a Holybro X500 v2 on PX4, with thermal perception and hotspot alerting flying on it today. The multi-aircraft ring and relay are validated in simulation, and sustained suppression needs the larger production airframe that our raise funds. We'll send raw flight records to anyone doing serious diligence.
Can we see the flight data?
Yes, for serious diligence. Every armed flight is recorded automatically: full telemetry, command round-trip latency, video health and every detection event, position-stamped. We send raw flight records to anyone doing serious diligence, and you can request them here.
What are FireFly's flight time, range and payload?
We don't publish flight time, range or payload figures for the production aircraft yet; they depend on the larger airframe now in development, and every pilot runs under a written safety case. Navigation lighting keeps each aircraft easy to track at night, in rain and in smoke. The team can share the demonstrator's measured numbers.
How do we start working with Caligo Dynamics?
We work in three steps: 1) a demo, with your crews in the room asking the hard questions; 2) a controlled field pilot on your ground, with scenarios designed with you, a written safety case and an evaluation report; 3) monthly access per aircraft, scaling station by station. Operator training is part of the pilot; pods, software updates and fleet support are part of the commercial service we're building. See services.
How much does FireFly cost?
FireFly is offered as a service rather than a purchase: a monthly fee per aircraft covering the aircraft, nest, software and updates. A quote for your service starts with a demo conversation.
How do I request a demo?
Use the contact box: choose who you are and it asks only what we need. The founders read every message.
Can I try FireFly myself?
You can fly a mission yourself in our browser simulation: play the simulation.
The company
Who is Caligo Dynamics?
Caligo Dynamics Inc. is a Delaware C-Corp building FireFly, an autonomous drone swarm for fire response. For anything about locations or visits, contact us.
Who founded Caligo Dynamics?
Caligo Dynamics was founded by Furkan Serhatlıoğlu (Founder & CEO), an AI engineer who builds drones and built and flies the FireFly demonstrator, and Siva Abishikth (Abhi) Mylavarapu (Founding CTO), who leads systems and autonomy. Meet the team.
Why does Caligo Dynamics exist?
Firefighters lose the first minutes of every fire to smoke and distance. Our mission is to close the gap between the alarm and the first useful action: the machine goes in first, sees through the smoke, and hands the picture to the people who decide.
What do the names Caligo and FireFly mean?
Caligo is Latin for mist, fog or darkness: the conditions FireFly is built to work in. FireFly is the aircraft that brings light into them.
Has Caligo Dynamics won any awards?
Caligo Dynamics received the AWS 10,000 AIdeas Innovation Award 2026, recognised in Amazon Web Services' global programme.
Is FireFly patented?
FireFly is Patent Pending.
Who does Caligo Dynamics want to work with?
We're looking for fire services and forestry teams to run controlled pilots, airframe manufacturers and suppressant specialists, and aviation and safety bodies. If that's you, the founders would like to hear from you.
Is Caligo Dynamics hiring?
We're looking for people in robotics, AI, sensor fusion and aerospace engineering. No open roles are listed yet, but the founders like hearing from builders, and you can introduce yourself here.
How can investors learn more?
Everything we publish about the market, the business model and the roadmap is on the Investors page. Investment conversations go directly to the founders through the contact box.
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Something we did not answer?
Read the guide to drones for firefighting, ask the assistant in the corner of this page, or write to the founders.