During a fire, every second counts. Firefighters constantly put their lives at risk in the line of duty to save civilians. To protect them, Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) has donated its Unmanned Firefighting Robots to the National Fire Agency in South Korea, providing advanced technology to aid in firefighter safety.
The robot was designed to be deployed in high-risk fire scenarios to tackle explosions, extreme heat, and heavy smoke before human firefighters enter the scene. It can help identify, assess, and suppress fires remotely. It does this by using an advanced self-driving assistance system to mitigate collision risk and a high-pressure water cannon with both direct and spray-type water control.
Other features include AI vision-enhancing cameras that use infrared thermal imaging sensors to transmit precise, real-time video in poor visibility, and a 6x6 in-wheel drive system that allows the robot to rotate 360 degrees in tight spaces. It also has a top speed of 50kph and a self-spraying water-cooling system with insulation, providing heat protection of up to 800 degrees Celcius.
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“Firefighters who rush into danger without hesitation to save lives remind us of the values our society must uphold,” says Hyundai Motor Group executive chair Euisun Chung. “In partnership with the Korea National Fire Agency, we developed the Unmanned Firefighting Robot to help realize the very value of ‘safety’ that firefighters have long protected.”
“The true value of this robot is not merely its heat resistance or fire suppression power, but its role as a ‘Physical AI’ that operates in actual disaster sites,” adds Korean National Fire Agency acting commissioner Seung-ryong Kim. “In extreme environments where firefighters cannot enter, it will collect and learn from real-world operational data to develop into a sophisticated disaster response platform.”
Two units have already been deployed in the Capital and Yeongnam regions in South Korea, with two additional robots expected to follow. You can watch the campaign video introducing these robot firefighters and their capabilities below.
