You can now buy a flame-throwing robot dog for under $10,000

Diplomjodler@lemmy.world to Technology@lemmy.world – 164 points –
You can now buy a flame-throwing robot dog for under $10,000
arstechnica.com

The future is going to be great!

26

Surely nothing will go wrong.

Just wait until we have autonomous robot flame throwing dogs!

When the kids from next door lose their ball over the fence and try and retrieve it they're gonna get a face full of flame!

Same company sells the flame thrower for $700, and it's mounted on top of a robot that's available for $1500. They just plugged the trigger of the flamethrower into the auxiliary port that the dog comes equipped with.

This thing is entirely a marketing ploy to draw attention fo their line of products (flame throwers).

Can I? The article only mentions American regulations and laws regarding flamethrowers (and even admits that those laws may restrict the sale or use of these weapons platforms).

Makes no mention of European laws. Somehow I'm doubtful that weapons heavily controlled by geneva protocols, mounted to drones, are legal for civilian use here. I'm surprised they're even okay over there!

(Outside of specialist equipment for trained and qualified civilian personnel, I'm sure someone somewhere still uses them as a defoliant for example, as unwise as that seems given all the wildfires these days...)

The Geneva Convention only applies to government/military bodies. It doesn't regulate private individuals.

Others laws probably apply though regarding a fucking flamethrower.

I thought you couldn't buy Spot, only rent?

This particular robot is available $1500. (Without attachment) It's not much more that a remote controlled toy, not an autonomous robot.

I, for one, welcome our new flame-throwing robotic overlords.

This is the best summary I could come up with:


If you've been wondering when you'll be able to order the flame-throwing robot that Ohio-based Throwflame first announced last summer, that day has finally arrived.

It features a one-hour battery, a 30-foot flame-throwing range, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity for remote control through a smartphone.

It also includes a LIDAR sensor for mapping and obstacle avoidance, laser sighting, and first-person view (FPV) navigation through an onboard camera.

The company lists possible applications of the new robot as "wildfire control and prevention," "agricultural management," "ecological conservation," "snow and ice removal," and "entertainment and SFX."

Back in 2018, Elon Musk made the news for offering an official Boring Company flamethrower that reportedly sold 10,000 units in 48 hours.

Even so, to state the obvious, flamethrowers can easily burn both things and people, starting fires and wreaking havoc if not used safely.


The original article contains 286 words, the summary contains 139 words. Saved 51%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!