Thermonator, the flame-throwing robot dog that anyone can buy for US$10,000

It has been just over 120 years since the German Richard Fiedler showed the German Army the first prototypes of his flammenwefer, the modern flamethrower. That device, in 1901, was inspired by ideas that have been around at least since the time of the Greeks and the Roman Empire, when liquid fuels began to circulate, which combined with the ability to light fires at will, became a weapon. lethal.

But they always involved people: whether at the infantry level or (especially during World War II) from a tank, there was someone who moved the container with fuel, and activated the discharge and combustion system.

Now, a company called Throwflame has put a technological twist on this concept with the creation of Thermonator a flamethrower according to these times: it is a robot dog that carries the spray cannon on its back. It is not reserved for military use, and can be purchased for $9,420 (shipping is free in the United States).

What do you get for that money? A Spot-style robot dog, the device created by Boston Dynamics a few years ago, which in this case has an autonomy of one hour, lidar obstacle detection systems, the possibility of being operated remotely and a flamethrower with a jet that has a range of 9 meters. It comes with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS for your geolocation and to send your camera images to your remote controller and You can use both gasoline and diesel as fuel to light the fire.

Who could look for something like that? At what point does someone say: “what would solve this problem for me is a flamethrower robot”? Well, according to the company, se can be used for snow or ice removal; ecological conservation; the burning of grasslands and the control and prevention of pests. Also, of course, as an entertainment device (to light a bonfire at a festival, for example). And it is not mandatory to always use it while throwing fire.

These robot dogs have already been seen carrying firearms on their backs, swimming alongside police officers and other elements on their backs; In fact, their initial function, when created by Boston Dynamics at the request of the US Army, was to be a load mule for the equipment of soldiers.