More than 100 firefighters died while on duty in 2013, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. So replacing human firefighters with robots makes lots of sense — and that’s exactly what scientists at Virginia Tech, along with the U.S. Navy, are trying to do with SAFFiR, short for Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting Robot.
SAFFiR is meant to put out fires in one of the places where they’re most dangerous: Sea-going vessels. The five-foot-ten-inches, 143 pound robot has a sensor array that lets it see through thick smoke to detect fires. Then, with help from a human at the controls, the robot can manipulate a fire hose to extinguish the flames.
“We set out to build and demonstrate a humanoid capable of mobility aboard a ship, manipulating doors and fire hoses, and equipped with sensors to see and navigate through smoke,” said Dr. Thomas McKenna, Office of Naval Research program manager for human-robot interaction and cognitive neuroscience, in a Navy press release Wednesday. “The long-term goal is to keep sailors from the danger of direct exposure to fire.”
Watch footage of SAFFiR’s first on-ship test aboard the USS Shadwell above.
These Robots Have Their Own World Cup
Humanoid robots are seen at the Institute for Computer Science at the University of Bonn in Bonn July 3, 2014.Ina Fassbender—ReutersResearch associates Larry Vadakedathu and Qin He work with one of their RoboCup entries, a 5-foot-tall metal humanoid named THOR (Tactical Hazardous Operations Robot), in the adult-size league at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia on July 7, 2014.Matt Rourke—APRobocup Junior teams in RoboCup Robot Soccer Championship on July 21, 2014.Lorena Travassos—Fotoarena/CorbisMembers of the Rhoban project's team check functions of a humanoid robot at the LaBRI workshop in Talence, France on July 7, 2014. Regis Devignau—ReutersPeople work on the software of humanoid robots during a photo opportunity at the Institute for Computer Science at the University of Bonn in Bonn, Germany on July 3, 2014. Ina Fassbender—ReutersStudents at the University of Pennsylvania work with one of their RoboCup entries known as Nao in Philadelphia on July 7, 2014.Matt Rourke—APThe first day of the RoboCup Robot Soccer Championship in João Pessoa, Brazil on July 21, 2014.Lorena Travassos—Fotoarena/CorbisA participant from the Netherlands prepares his humanoid robot for a soccer match in the international robotics competition in Tehran, Iran on April 10, 2014.Vahid Salemi—APHumanoid robots play during a soccer match while visitors follow the competition in the international robotics competition, RoboCup Iran Open 2014, in Tehran, Iran on April 10, 2014.Vahid Salemi—APTrophies won by humanoid robots at competitions are seen during a photo opportunity at the Institute for Computer Science at the University of Bonn in Bonn, Germany on July 3, 2014. Ina Fassbender—Reuters
