Fire extinguisher presence detection via OpenMV automated inspection

Whether a fire extinguisher is in place often remains unknown until it is actually needed—by which time it is already too late. Relying on manual inspections results in low frequency and high risk of omissions, making it difficult to achieve continuous and effective monitoring. OpenMV transforms fire safety inspections into an “always-on” process through vision-based technology.

In public and industrial locations such as shopping malls, industrial parks, factory workshops, and office buildings, the proper placement of fire extinguishers—whether they are positioned in accordance with regulations, whether they have been moved without authorization, and whether they are obstructed by debris—directly affects emergency response efficiency during unexpected fire incidents. Should fire extinguishers be missing or unavailable for immediate use, the critical window for initial fire suppression is often missed, resulting in greater safety losses.

Traditional fire safety inspections primarily rely on manual, periodic checks, which not only limit inspection frequency but also heavily depend on inspectors’ sense of responsibility and experience, making omissions, misjudgments, or situations where “inspections are passed but equipment is subsequently removed” likely, thereby hindering continuous and effective oversight.

The integration of SingTown’s OpenMV smart camera upgrades fire extinguisher inspections from manual patrols to round-the-clock, automated visual inspections.

The camera is permanently installed at the designated location corresponding to fire protection equipment and operates stably over the long term, continuously capturing on-site images of fire extinguisher areas without requiring manual intervention. OpenMV runs object detection algorithms directly on the camera device to accurately identify fire extinguishers and, in conjunction with predefined installation zone rules, determines whether each fire extinguisher is positioned as required. Additionally, through shape integrity and occlusion detection, the system identifies whether a fire extinguisher is obstructed, toppled, or exhibits abnormal appearance, thereby assessing its operational readiness from multiple dimensions.

Upon detecting anomalies such as missing fire extinguishers, positional displacement, or obstruction, OpenMV can immediately generate an alert signal at the edge, trigger on-site audible and visual alarm devices, or upload event information to the management platform—achieving true “immediate anomaly detection and instant issue notification.”

Leveraging an edge deployment architecture and on-device AI capabilities, OpenMV can perform recognition and decision-making without continuously uploading video streams—reducing network and storage costs while significantly enhancing system stability and response speed.

Fire safety inspections have thus been upgraded from “periodic manual inspections” to “7×24-hour online monitoring,” effectively reducing fire safety risks and enhancing overall emergency response capabilities.