Korean-Developed Robot Can Help Fight Fires

We've seen a lot of stories about state-of-the-art robotics being used for military applications. After all, one of the best potential uses for having an impervious remote-controlled object is to send it into places that are too dangerous for actual humans to enter. However, those situations don't just exist in war zones; they can happen right in your backyard, for example if there is a fire.

That's why a pair of Korean companies have invested in creating a robot that's designed to help fight fires. The firefighting robot can withstand temperatures of up to 1,400 degrees and has the ability to operate autonomously for up to an hour and a half. The bot can also record and transmit video, and has the ability to use a hose and spray water over the flames.

And perhaps even more important than all that – it has thermal imaging capabilities, so it would be possible for someone to remotely operate the robot through a building that a normal human would be completely blind in navigating. The technology is still a work in progress, but the companies have high hopes that it will spread internationally, and before too long maybe stories of firefighters dying in the line of action won't be as common of an occurence as it is now.

[via Todaysthv]