This firefighting robot can battle flames too dangerous for humans

The LAFD demonstrates the Thermite RS3 Robotic Firefighting Vehicle at the Frank Hotchkin Memorial Training Center in Los Angeles recently. — Photos: TNS

With its bright yellow armoured body, grippy tank-like treads, plow nose and water cannon, the Los Angeles Fire Department’s latest piece of equipment looks more like a Star Wars sidekick than a firefighting assistant.

But this mini robot tanker is an inferno buster that packs a powerful punch of water or foam and can go where firefighters otherwise can’t. On Oct 13, the LAFD became the first fire department in the United States to acquire the Robotics Systems 3, a droid on steroids.