Dryad Networks

Dryad Networks is a German sensor-network company based in Eberswalde, near Berlin, founded in 2019. It addresses the gap between fire ignition and detection in forests: conventional watchtowers, cameras and satellites usually see a fire only once flames and a visible smoke plume have formed, by which point suppression is far harder and more expensive.

The company sells Silvanet, an end-to-end system of three parts. Solar-powered gas sensors mounted on trees combine VOC, CO and PM2.5 measurement with an on-device AI model to recognise the smouldering phase of a fire within minutes of ignition. Mesh and border gateways build an off-grid, solar-powered LoRaWAN network that reaches areas without power or cellular coverage, and a cloud platform handles deployment planning, analytics, alerting and fire risk and spread modelling. A second line, Silvaguard, adds observation drones with infrared and optical cameras, solar charging hangars and suppression drones carrying 100-litre tanks. Customers include forest authorities, municipalities, utilities and private forest operators.

1. Ultra-early detection: fourth-generation sensors combine VOC, CO and PM2.5 readings to flag a fire within minutes of ignition, during the smouldering phase.

2. Off-grid network: solar-powered LoRaWAN mesh and border gateways extend coverage into forests with no mains power or cellular signal.

3. Cloud platform: deployment planning, sensor analytics, alert routing and fire risk and spread modelling in one interface.

4. Silvaguard drones: observation drones with infrared and optical cameras plus suppression drones with 100-litre tanks, housed in solar charging hangars.

5. Industrialised hardware: sensors are in full series production and designed for years of maintenance-free operation on the tree.

6. Deployment scale: the technology has been shipped to forest operators across more than 20 countries.