Acknowledgements

Dr Mauro S. Innocente‘s work on Swarm Intelligence and Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO) dates back to his MSc thesis in 2004-2006, his PhD thesis in 2006–2010, and his postodctoral work in 2011–2014 at Swansea University (UK), under the supervision of Professor Johann Sienz.

He also applied PSO to the optimisation of FRP-reinforced concrete beams during his time at Universitat de Girona (Spain) in 2006, to solve the jetty scheduling problem for oil refineries, the Kriging-based optimisation of oil extraction from petroleum fields, and general structural design optimisation problems during his time at Swansea University in 2005–2014, and to solve the optimal design of power-dense converters while at Cardiff University in 2014–2015.

Upon completion of his PhD, informal discussions with Professor Johann Sienz at Swansea University in 2010 sparked Dr Mauro Innocente‘s interest in applying swarm robotics to the wildfire suppression problem. He would further develop this idea and published his early work on this topic during his time at Coventry University in 2015–2025 (first papers in collaboration with his PhD student, Dr Paolo Grasso).

Important contributors to relevant publications are:

• Professor Johann Sienz (Particle Swarm Optimisation).
• Dr Mohammad Tavakol Sadrabadi (wildfire modelling, and wildfire emergency response).
• Professor Guillermo Rein (wildfire emergency response, and class A foams enhanced by nanoparticles).
• Professor Joaquim Peiró (wildfire emergency response).
• Dr Ioannis Papagiannis (class A foams enhanced by nanoparticles).
• Dr Evangelos Gkanas (class A coams enhanced by nanoparticles).
• Dr Carlos Walker-Ravena (class A foams enhanced by nanoparticles).
• Dr Jun Jet Tai (AI-enabled drones).

The work on the optimal design of power-dense converters was funded by the EPSRC Centre for Power Electronics in 2015–2016.

The published research on the use of nanoparticles to enhance the performance of class A foams for wildfire suppression was funded by the Lloyds Registry Foundation (LRF) International Consortium of Nanotechnologies in 2020–2024.

Early market discovery for the commercialisation of Dr Mauro Innocente‘s research on swarm intelligence applied to wildfires was funded by the Innovate UK TMF AI ICURe Explore grant in 2025, hosted by Imperial College London and with Professor Guillermo Rein acting as scientific advisor.