‘World’s first’ flame-throwing robodog that shoots jets of fire up to 30ft is now available to buy
Have you ever looked at your dog and thought: man, I wish you could shoot flames from your back?
OK, maybe not - but you can actually buy a robot dog that does just that.
We're steadily getting used to the idea of robots becoming part of daily life, whether they're completing food deliveries or working in warehouses.
However, it's hard not to think about how they could be used in military settings - particularly when you see videos of robot dogs strapped up with a flamethrower, like one posted on YouTube this week.
After some shots of the robot dog making its way through a forest, the video gets to the point and shows a whole bunch of shots where it's shooting out jets of flame up to 30 feet away from itself.
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It's pretty astonishing to look at, especially because there are also shots of it moving around while flamethrowing.
Perhaps the most amazing part of this whole thing, though, is that you can actually buy one of these flamethrower dogs for yourself, right now.
Made by Throwflame and called the Thermonator, it's described as 'the first-ever flamethrower-wielding robot dog'.
For a cool $9,420 it could be yours to use as you see fit, although your local fire department will doubtless have a few thousand restrictions around it.
The dog is 'ready for anything', according to Throwflame, including: wildfire control and prevention,agricultural management, ecological conservation, snow and ice removal, entertainment and SFX.
You can fairly easily see how it could work in each of those cases, of course, although we're not sure that a flamethrower robot dog is the most sensible way to clear your driveway of snow in the morning.
The flamethrower itself, meanwhile, has a 30-foot range and the option of laser targeting to help you make sure your aim is true, and just like the dog it can be operated completely remotely.
In fact, once it's set up and connected you can control the robot from your phone, just like you would a videogame. If you prefer, though, you can also let it automatically follow you or move around a patrol route.
There's an hour-long battery, so this thing won't be able to go all day without returning to its docking station to charge back up (which it can also do autonomously).
All in all, this is an equal parts amazing and horrifying glimpse into just what some initially cute-looking robots can actually do.