Thermonator, the first ever robot dog equipped with a flamethrower, will be available to preorder in the coming months from a company called Throwflame. Neato.
Thermonator can hurl flames on-demand at whatever object you desire, for ‘instant firepower’, by being coupled with the company’s ARC flamethrower.
That’s right, this is one hotdog you certainly wouldn’t want to get anywhere within 30 feet of!
I don’t think anyone will ever forget Black Mirror episode Metalhead. Well, here’s a video which makes it look like a cross between that and The Thing:
Boston Dynamics did start selling Spot, a version of its four-legged robot friend featured in that episode, it was with one major stipulation: you couldn’t use it to hurt anybody.
Although Throwflame aren’t publicising Thermonator as a weapon as such, it… still seems like people could easily get hurt.
The ARC flamethrower that Thermonator boasts uses an in-built fuel tank filled with gasoline (or gasoline/diesel combo) which can blast a 30-foot long stream of burning fuel for up to 45 minutes.
You know what I’m thinking…
According to Gizmodo, Thermonator does have its differences from Spot, such as being smaller and lighter – however, with the flamethrower on top, Thermonator weighs in at around 60 pounds. Which will almost definitely have an impact on its battery life.
And much like Spot, it’s still equipped with several cameras and sensors onboard to allow for some autonomous navigation when it’s not being operated via wireless controls.
At the moment, Throwflame is most well known for making compact all-electric flamethrowers which operate using a push button plasma arc igniter rather than an open flame.
Let us know what you think in the comment section below.
