The forest fire detection system developed by Prof. Enis Çetin of the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering and his team has been recognized by TÜSİAD and the Turkish Informatics Foundation (TBV), receiving an eTR Award for the “best project” at a ceremony held at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on January 15. This year marks the 12th time the eTR awards have been given.
The OYEUS (Early Fire Detection System) project has already seen extensive use by the General Directorate of Forestry (a division of the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs). The system was installed in around one hundred fire lookout towers near the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. During 2007-2014, OYEUS detected 417 wildfires, preventing considerable economic and ecological loss. While the cost of the system was 4,125,200 TL, the losses it has prevented amount to 43,900,000 TL—almost 12 times the system’s cost.
Acting on the belief that Turkey’s transition to an information society depends on an effective transformation of the country into “eTurkey,” TÜSİAD and TBV have been presenting the eTR Awards since 2003. The awards are designed to draw attention to outstanding
e-government practices, to introduce innovative initiatives to the public, and to support and encourage successful initiatives, with the intention of contributing to the eTR transformation in order to enhance quality, productivity and competitiveness in public administration, the economy and society.