Drones have become an increasingly common feature of Swedish infrastructure. As technology has advanced and prices have fallen, organisations, companies and authorities have started using them for various purposes, including photography, filming, mapping, surveillance and military operations.

Drone operations: an industry for the future.

"Drones have become cheaper, more autonomous, and far more useful," says Åsa Olsson, Head of the Reliable Transport Systems Unit at RISE. "Improvements in batteries and cameras, not to mention simpler licensing processes, have also contributed to this. All of these factors have contributed to a rapid increase in their use."

With the rapid advance of technology, she believes that the areas of use will only continue to grow.

“Drones could have many more applications – for instance, they could act as mobile defibrillators that respond when someone suffers a cardiac arrest. Personally, I like to imagine a future where I can fly to work in a drone,” says Åsa Olsson.

Advanced tools with great potential – and challenges

But increased use also brings risks.

“A drone is, after all, equipped with a computer that can connect to various systems. We’ve carried out tests showing that some drones leak information even though this isn’t mentioned in the manuals. The drone could therefore reveal its location, leak data, or transmit images,” says Åsa Olsson.

And just like any other computer, drones can also be hacked.

“If you’ve filmed sensitive or critical sites, that data could be lost – and someone else might gain access to the drone and the information stored in it,” she explains.

A major asset for future technology

It’s essential that awareness of communication security and protection against malicious code keeps pace.

“Drones store large amounts of data, which increases the risk of information falling into the wrong hands. Communication must be encrypted, and the drone should have backup functions,” says Åsa Olsson.

She recommends always asking the manufacturer or retailer whether a third-party evaluation has been carried out to verify how well the drone is protected against, for example, malicious code.

“There’s no explicit transparency – you have to ask the company whether the drone is certified.”

But there are also physical risks, such as collisions and weather conditions.

“Weather is an important factor when choosing a drone. For instance, if the drone isn’t rain-resistant, it could be damaged. There’s also a risk of collisions or of the drone damaging someone else’s property. That’s why it’s important to have appropriate insurance for the drone in case of an accident,” says Åsa Olsson.

Stricter requirements and a greater focus on safety

In addition to registration and licences for drones, there are also EU directives such as NIS2 and CRA (see the fact box below).

“Overall, there are many rules, some of which are complicated, for both the drone itself and its use. It is a rapidly growing area in which RISE can determine what applies,” says Åsa Olsson. 

RISE specialises in drone operation, cyber security, and wireless communication. The organisation also has several specially adapted test and demonstration environments, as well as courses on the various regulations and training on the risks and safety of drone use.

"We conduct tests in a variety of environments and locations, such as forests, urban areas, fields, mountains, waterways and the sea, throughout Sweden. Cyber tests need to be carried out in a laboratory, while test flights are conducted on site with the necessary equipment and personnel," says Åsa Olsson.

RISE also conducts tests to analyse the information transmitted by drones, such as whether they can reveal their position and the images they take.

"These drones are advanced and users may not be fully aware of all their functions, especially since these are not always described in the manual. They could film or photograph a security object without the operator's knowledge, which could cause problems for the owner," says Åsa Olsson.

Burnt-down houses, a smouldering landscape, and black, toxic smoke. Typical characteristics of devastating forest fire. Doesn't it feel like we're seeing it more and more often?

'There aren’t actually more fires, but they are more costly. In terms of global fire frequency and area burned, they are not greater now than 25 years ago. However, the number of fire disasters is increasing. These are fires that either kill many people or have very serious consequences for the country's gross domestic product’, says Johan Sjöström, a RISE researcher specialising in forest fires and their fuels, ignition, behaviour, and societal impact.

The increase in fire severity can largely be attributed to climate change. As the Earth's temperature rises, so does the risk of fire. Relative humidity decreases, sucking the moisture out of dead surface material.

‘Accompanying climate change is an increased amount of fuel. This originates from several different factors. In France and Spain, where we have seen major fire disasters in recent years, the affected areas have historically been heavily cultivated landscapes used for small-scale agriculture or grazing', says Johan Sjöström, continuing:

However, small-scale farms are no longer economically viable and are therefore abandoned. In their place, the land is instead transitioned to forest plantations, often comprising highly flammable trees such as pine, or residential areas, where shade from evergreen trees close to houses are common. Many small farms are also simply left as they are, shifting over time to grass- and shrublands as vegetations grows.

Deciduous trees are an inexpensive way to reduce fire risk

To address this problem, climate change must be mitigated and land use follow more resilient and smarter strategies. The number of natural fire barriers provided by open landscapes needs to increase.

Taking France and Spain as examples again, the number of preventive, controlled fires in strategic locations should be increased. During the winter months, areas can be burned to limit the availability of highly flammable fuel during the next hot summer,' explains Johan Sjöström.

Although controlled burning is used to create firebreaks in southern Europe, Sweden relies on other methods to reduce fire risk.

The cheapest and most effective method is to leave a certain proportion of birch trees standing during the thinning process. Pine forests with some inclusion of spruce are the most fire-prone in our landscapes. But even a small amount of birch can significantly reduce their fire risk. 'If every tenth tree in the coniferous forest is a birch, the fire risk decreases by a third,' says Johan Sjöström.

The great thing is that forest owners don't need to work to achieve this effect. Birch trees are typically established via wind-borne seeds, so you just need to work a little less with the chain saw.

RISE maps and analyses forest and grass fires

Another way to reduce the risk of forest fires is to create barriers of deciduous trees along roads by allowing birch trees to grow in ditches. This enables the emergency services to stop fires from spreading to more flammable coniferous trees from the road.

RISE has extensive knowledge of forest and grass fires. Johan Sjöström and his research colleague, Frida Vermina Plathner, assist various authorities in producing documentation such as reports that map trends and patterns relating to forest and grass fires in Sweden.

We can also produce risk maps and vulnerability analyses for specific areas, such as a municipality. Currently, municipalities primarily allocate resources to their emergency services to enhance firefighting capabilities, which is understandable. However, Johan Sjöström notes that there is much to be gained from preventively limiting the flammability of the ground.

Who will pay for changes to land use in order to adapt to climate change?

‘We already have quite strict legislation in place. Following storms, landowners must clear fallen trees to minimise the risk of spruce bark beetle infestation. After felling, the land must be reforested. To increase the proportion of deciduous trees, we could introduce a rule on tree species composition, as already stipulated in FSC environmental certification,” argues Johan Sjöström.

Economic instruments can also be used to reduce the risk of fire. The authorities currently provide support for the restoration of wetlands. Similar support could be used for the aforementioned deciduous tree barriers.

'It is, of course, impossible to say how big the fire would have been without preventive measures, but we do know that adapting land use to climate change is both cheap and effective,' says Johan Sjöström.