Lithium thermal runaway destroys a battery storage facility in under five minutes. Fire departments arrive in ten. Blanket closes that gap with autonomous detection, on-site suppression, and live intelligence for first responders.
Stationary thermal-and-gas sensor module. Fuses 768 thermal readings per cycle with combustion byproduct detection. Triggers only when both signals confirm an event.
Docked ground robot. Deploys on Sentinel trigger, navigates to the heat source, and discharges directional suppression. No drone downwash, no airflow disturbance.
Live thermal overlay, fire location, and facility layout transmitted to the responding fire department before they breach the perimeter. Intelligence as the deliverable.
Blanket is an early-stage company developing autonomous fire response technology, founded in 2026 at Virginia Tech. We focus on industrial environments where existing fire infrastructure has not kept pace with new chemistry — beginning with battery energy storage facilities.
Our approach is integration over invention. The components — thermal sensing, mobile platforms, suppression chemistry — exist in mature forms. The opportunity is in the autonomous system that combines them into a response platform purpose-built for the modern industrial fire profile.
We work with facility operators, fire safety engineers, insurers, and first responders. If you have perspective on how industrial fires should be detected and handled, we want to hear from you.