The suitcase sits there, resting on the black ash 300 meters from the crater. Inside, high-speed cameras capture every incandescent fragment that Stromboli spews into the sky. Outside, volcanologists from the INGV have already descended into the valley. They ascend once a day, just long enough to change batteries and memory cards. The rest is up to Stromboli. SKATE All by itself: record, synchronize, wait. When an explosion sends truck-sized rocks hurtling at supersonic speeds, the system is already ready. Hundreds of frames per second, precise temperature, and the sound of the eruption. All in a single file, perfectly aligned. Five years like this, over a thousand explosions analyzed on active volcanoes. No researchers stuck for hours in the red zone. A suitcase worth €58 that reduces risks.
When staying close to active volcanoes is too expensive
Filming an explosive eruption up close has always been complicated. You have to set up cameras, wait hours for something to happen, and hope everything activates at the right time. Researchers have to stay on site, exposed to toxic gases, lava projectiles, and extreme temperatures.
THENational Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) presented the results of a different approach in July 2024: SKATE, Short for Setup for the Kinematic Acquisition of Explosive EruptionsA portable observatory that does everything by itself.
The system was developed by Technology Equipment Engineering Solutions (TEES) and Dewesoft, following the INGV specifications. It costs approximately $58 and fits into a hard polypropylene suitcase. The suitcase contains: a thermal camera which records at 32 frames per second, a high-speed one which fires bursts when it detects temperature spikes, acoustic sensors, a waterproof computer. All synchronized in real time. When an explosion goes off, SKATE is ready. No manual waiting, no risk of missing the crucial moment.
Stromboli, a natural laboratory for active volcanoes
Stromboli It is one of the few persistently active volcanoes on Earth. It has erupted hourly for centuries, with small explosions that spew fragments of incandescent lava, lapilli, and ash. About 500 residents and thousands of tourists live alongside this natural spectacle. For volcanologists, it is an ideal laboratory: accessible, constant, and relatively predictable. The INGV monitors it with seismic networks, fixed cameras, and GPS stations. But to truly understand how an explosion works, close-up data is needed: the velocity of the fragments, the temperature of the magma, the sound of the eruption. SKATE was placed between 300 and 900 meters from the active craters and operated from 2019 to 2024.
Secondo Jacopo Taddeucci, senior researcher at INGV,
“Explosive eruptions are extremely fast processes with particles the size of a truck or a dust speck that can travel from a few meters per second to supersonic speeds.”
To capture them, cameras that “shoot” hundreds of frames per second and instruments capable of seeing, hearing and perceiving the eruption simultaneously are needed.
How the portable observatory works
SKATE replaces FAMoUS (Fast Multiparametric Setup), the previous INGV prototype. FAMoUS worked, but it was heavy, cumbersome, required manual installation, and had to be activated by hand. Researchers had to stay in the danger zone for hours to capture just a few sequences.
SKATE is lighter, can be set up in minutes, and automatically starts when needed. The internal computer coordinates the thermal imaging camera and the high-speed camera. Recording 4K video continuously would fill the memory in a few hours: 100 times more space than is available. The solution? Automatic activation. The thermal imaging camera is always running. When it detects a sudden temperature spike, it starts the high-speed camera. Everything is written to two 6-terabyte SSDs in a single, synchronized file.
Power comes from solar panels and replaceable batteries. Battery life: a full day in good weather. The volcanologists ascend once a day, change batteries and memory cards, and descend. Minutes instead of hours. The modular design allows for the addition of sensors: INGV is testing a UV camera to quantify sulfur dioxide emissions and a laser rangefinder that measures distances ten times per second.
The latter is used to precisely reconstruct the trajectories of volcanic bombs and understand where they land.
A thousand explosions, a thousand different personalities
From 2019 to 2024, the INGV team analyzed over a thousand explosions recorded by SKATE. Each crater has developed its own personality. Gas-rich jets sound softer and last longer. Explosions laden with ash and volcanic bombs roar briefly and hurl incandescent fragments higher. Recent studies demonstrate that Eruptions of active volcanoes have profound effects on the global climateFrom changes in water flow to changes in precipitation. Understanding how explosions work isn't just a matter of scientific curiosity: it's about protecting people.
SKATE is not a 24/7 warning system. It is too complex and data-hungry to transmit in real time from a crater rim. Instead, it serves the needs of fixed monitoring networks, positioned further from the craters: thermal cameras, infrasound arrays, seismic stations.
The data collected by SKATE help better interpret the signals recorded by these networks. Understanding how gas bubbles rise in magma, how volcanic conduits form, and which underground processes cannot be seen by ordinary instruments is being explored. The INGV is using the recurring patterns to create reference libraries that could train automated systems to recognize signals. early warning in live data.
Beyond Stromboli
SKATE has also been tested on theEtna, on the Fuego and the Santiaguito in Guatemala. The next objective is the Mount Yasur in Vanuatu, nicknamed the “Lighthouse of the Pacific” for its almost continuous eruptions with rhythmic jets of incandescent lava and gas. There are 500 million people in the world who live near active volcanoes, many of which have no monitoring systems.
How do you explain Piergiorgio Scarlato, director of INGV research,
"Working in such extreme conditions, with humidity, gases, and sudden temperature changes, is the true test for any technology. The difference now is that our interventions last minutes, not hours."
Humidity corrodes cables, steam fogs camera lenses. During a recent deployment, a goat ate the microphone cable. In a test on Stromboli, a new high-speed black-and-white sensor, ideal for tracking incandescent bombs at night, struggled more than expected: the explosions lasted only a few seconds, and the sensor didn't have time to focus. Technical issues, sure. But manageable.
The real difference is the exposure time: as mentioned, minutes instead of hours. This means greater safety for researchers, better data for science. And perhaps, one day, better forecasts for those living in the shadow of active volcanoes.
