en.Wedoany.com Reported - The San Bernardino County Fire Department in California has officially introduced a quadruped robot designed to perform reconnaissance and mapping tasks before firefighters enter hazardous environments. Developed by HawkRobo, based in Irvine, the robotic dog demonstrated skills such as backflips, standing upright, and climbing stairs during a presentation at the department's headquarters, but its core application is to enhance personnel safety at disaster sites.
In a statement, the fire department said the robot will be used for situational awareness and mapping inside buildings, whether in normal use or at sites where collapses have occurred and victims are being searched, with the goal of improving firefighter safety. The department noted that the robot's compact size is its greatest advantage compared to larger robotic systems, allowing it to move flexibly in tight spaces and areas that are not immediately accessible to personnel after collapses or in emergency situations.
In addition to mapping interior spaces and assisting in search operations, the robot can transport specialized equipment, such as air monitoring devices, into hazardous material incident sites to assess atmospheric conditions before personnel enter. The fire department stated on social media that its goal is to ensure personnel safety. Furthermore, the agency plans to use the robot in non-emergency situations, including public education activities and introducing robotics technology to young people.
Similar quadruped robots are being adopted across various fields. Taiwan recently showcased a quadruped robot for reconnaissance, surveillance, and potential fire support on remote islands in the South China Sea. Google DeepMind, in collaboration with Boston Dynamics, has equipped the latter's quadruped robot, Spot, with new artificial intelligence capabilities, enabling it to interpret scenes, inspect equipment, and make decisions with minimal human intervention. Boston Dynamics stated that the goal is to enable the robot to see, understand, and respond to real-world challenges fully autonomously. Data center operators across the United States are also turning to robotic dogs for security and infrastructure monitoring, with some systems costing up to $300,000 per unit.
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