The SmartFire project, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research under the Eurostars programme (project code 01QE2036B) ran from 1 November 2020 to 31 October 2023. Its goal was to create a next‑generation fire alarm that detects carbon monoxide (CO) at the earliest stage of a fire, thereby enabling faster intervention and reducing damage. The consortium comprised SCEMTEC Transponder Technology GmbH (sttID), Sensotran, and Notion. During the project Notion lost its small‑medium enterprise status, leading to a redistribution of tasks and a cost‑neutral extension of the project timeline.
SCEMTEC was responsible for selecting a suitable smart‑home wireless standard and for designing the wireless module that would interface with the CO sensor. The module uses the Wi‑Fi standard and the MQTT communication protocol to connect to a smart‑home hub. A UART interface allows the module to read the CO concentration from the sensor module. The entire SmartFire system is battery powered; the hardware and firmware were optimised for minimal power consumption to meet the runtime requirements specified in the project brief. A long‑term reliability test confirmed that the Wi‑Fi link to the smart‑home central remains stable over extended periods.
The CO sensor itself is a colourimetric device that changes colour when exposed to CO. An LED array illuminates the sensor and the reflected light is measured to determine the CO level. The sensor is designed to be small enough for direct integration into electrical appliances, where most modern fires originate. When the measured CO exceeds a predefined threshold, the wireless module sends an alarm to the smart‑home hub and also reports the battery status, enabling proactive maintenance.
During the research phase the consortium evaluated a wide range of wireless protocols—Bluetooth, Bluetooth LE, ZigBee, Z‑Wave, Wireless LAN, Wi‑Fi HaLow, Thread, DECT‑ULE, KNX‑RF, EnOcean, Lemonbeat, proprietary ISM‑band solutions, and GSM. Existing standards were found to be largely incompatible, and the emerging Matter standard, promoted by major industry players, was still under development. Matter version 1.0 did not support CO sensors, but support was added in version 1.2 released in October 2023. Despite this, the project team chose Wi‑Fi for its ubiquity, sufficient range, and mature ecosystem, and the module was validated by Sensotran.
The technical deliverables of the project include the fully characterised wireless module, the colourimetric CO sensor, and the integrated SmartFire prototype. The module’s firmware implements low‑power sleep modes, periodic CO sampling, MQTT publishing, and battery monitoring. The long‑term test data demonstrate reliable connectivity and low energy consumption, satisfying the runtime targets set in the specification. The CO sensor’s colour change can be detected at concentrations that correspond to early fire stages, providing a critical safety advantage over conventional smoke detectors.
In summary, the SmartFire project delivered a battery‑powered, Wi‑Fi‑enabled CO sensor system that can be embedded in household appliances and integrated into existing smart‑home networks. The collaboration between SCEMTEC, Sensotran, and Notion, supported by the German Ministry of Education and Research, resulted in a technically robust prototype that meets the project’s performance goals and demonstrates the feasibility of early fire detection through CO monitoring.