Matthias Jäger, Co-Founder and CTO at Optect, explains how optical design can extend flame detection range without weakening false alarm rejection
Fire detection systems are expected to respond quickly and reliably, yet performance can fall short in large or open environments where coverage distances stretch and installation demands increase.
Conventional infrared flame detectors remain widely used, but their limited range can require dense layouts that raise cost and complexity, particularly across infrastructure corridors, warehouses and remote sites.
Optect, a UK manufacturer based in Bath, has developed an optically enhanced IR3 flame detector designed to extend detection range while maintaining discrimination against false alarms.
The system combines long-range sensing with local coverage in a single device and is progressing through certification for broader deployment.
IFSJ Editor Iain Hoey sat down with Matthias Jäger, Co-Founder and CTO at Optect, to discuss the technology and its potential role in future fire detection strategies.
What distinguishes an IR3 flame detector and why was a new approach needed?
IR3 flame detectors identify fires by sensing the characteristic infrared radiation emitted by flames across three distinct spectral bands.
By analysing the relationship between these bands, the detector can distinguish real flames from common sources of interference such as sunlight, hot machinery or reflections.
Compared to smoke or heat detectors, IR3 systems can respond very rapidly and are particularly well suited to open, ventilated or outdoor environments where smoke may disperse and heat build-up can be delayed.
Most conventional IR3 detectors are designed around relatively short detection ranges and wide fields of view.
This works well in small enclosed industrial spaces, but becomes inefficient when protecting large areas, long perimeters or remote outdoor sites.
In those cases, achieving full coverage often requires a high number of detectors, which increases installation complexity, cost and maintenance.
The need for a new approach came from applications where early detection over distance matters, such as wildfire prevention, infrastructure protection and large buildings such as warehouses, but where existing solutions were impractical or uneconomic at scale.
How does Optect’s optically enhanced design work and what makes it different?
The core idea is a deliberate trade-off between field of view and range.
By narrowing the field of view using optical elements, we can concentrate infrared energy from distant flames onto the sensing elements, significantly extending detection range compared to conventional wide-angle IR3 detectors.
This approach allowed the system to pass formal flame detection tests at distances of 500 metres, with the limit set by the available test site rather than the sensitivity of the detector itself.
To ensure this does not create blind spots at close range, the system combines this long-range optical channel with a second detection element designed to cover nearby areas.
In effect, the detector provides focused long-range monitoring and local coverage within a single device, without requiring separate sensors or complex installation layouts.
Coverage geometry is defined optically rather than through placement density or software interpretation.
Installers can clearly understand what areas are being protected at short and long distances, while end users benefit from extended reach without losing near-field detection.
What were the main challenges in developing and certifying the detector?
We faced two significant challenges during development.
The first was operating as a startup in a highly regulated industry.
In many technology sectors, it is common to launch with a minimal viable product and refine it through rapid iteration in the field.
That approach is not viable in fire detection.
Certification is expensive and time-consuming, and once you enter formal testing, the product needs to be as reliable and as close to final as possible.
The second challenge stemmed directly from the extended detection range.
Sensitivity scales with the square of distance, so operating at around five times the range of conventional flame detectors means dealing with roughly twenty-five times the sensitivity.
At the same time, the detector still has to meet very stringent false-alarm immunity requirements in order to be certifiable.
Much of our innovation effort therefore went into ensuring that increased sensitivity did not translate into increased susceptibility to non-fire sources.
This challenge was compounded by the fact that existing certification standards were never written with detectors operating at hundreds of metres in mind.
For example, the European EN 54-10 standard currently defines three sensitivity classes with certified ranges of 12, 17 and 25 metres.
Although a draft revision introduces a new Class X with range defined by the manufacturer, today’s formal test framework is still anchored to short-range detectors.
What features support installers and end users?
From the outset, we tried to look beyond the detector itself and consider the whole system.
In many real installations, the detector hardware is only a small part of the overall cost.
The largest share is often the work required to install cabling, mount devices, commission the system and service it over its lifetime.
Improving coverage and reducing the number of detectors needed can therefore make a significant difference, but only if the installation process is also made as simple and predictable as possible.
That thinking drove many of the design decisions.
Extended and well-defined coverage means fewer mounting points, fewer cable runs and less time spent testing and validating installations.
We also use pluggable PCB terminal connectors rather than fixed terminals, which allows installers to terminate and check the wiring into the removable plug before mating it with the device.
There are also smaller details that come directly from spending time with installers.
One example is the cap on the configuration port, which is secured with a lanyard so it cannot be dropped while working on a cherry picker or lift.
Where will the detector be most valuable near term?
We currently see value emerging in two broad areas: new applications in wildfire detection, and more traditional industrial flame detection scenarios where long lines of sight are common.
On the wildfire side, the ability to detect small flames from flying embers quickly and incoming fires with high reliability opens up use cases that are difficult to address with conventional systems.
Examples include monitoring power line corridors, railway bridges or protecting private properties and estates in high-risk areas.
In these settings, early detection over distance can be critical, and reducing the number of detectors needed makes deployment more practical in terms of cost, infrastructure and maintenance.
In more traditional industrial contexts, the detector is particularly well suited to applications with clear, extended lines of sight.
This includes external building monitoring, large warehouses, car parks, process plants, conveyor routes or elongated outdoor installations where coverage is often dictated by geometry rather than floor area.
What is the status of Optect’s certifications?
From the outset, Optect’s detector was engineered to meet the requirements of widely recognised standards, EN 54-10 for Europe and FM 3260 for the US, Canada, Brasil, India and a number of other countries.
These standards are often a prerequisite for specification, installation and acceptance.
In terms of adoption, certification enables deployment in regulated industrial environments and integration into certified fire alarm systems.
It can also matter in fields without a formal requirement.
For example, in wildfire detection applications, insurance companies are increasingly looking for certified detection products.
How do you see flame detection technology evolving?
Over the past decades, flame detection has seen a great deal of iterative improvement, but relatively little fundamental disruption.
That is now beginning to change.
We are seeing movement at the standards level, for example with the draft revision of EN 54-10 introducing Class X, and with new standards emerging for AI-driven and camera-based fire detection systems.
We believe there is real value in adopting new and emerging technologies, particularly where they can extend coverage, improve situational awareness or enable new applications, while preserving the reliability, robustness and predictability that existing systems are trusted for.
Optect’s role in this is to contribute long-range optical sensing and certification-led engineering into that evolving landscape.
With a team that spans photonics, electronics and systems engineering, we are well positioned to help shape new classes of detection systems that are grounded in the practical and regulatory realities of real-world deployment.