Major fire in Essen: Four-legged robot dog comes into action

Monday saw a devastating apartment fire in the major city of Essen that kept firefighters on their toes. But the extensive operation involved more than just flesh-and-blood responders. A robot dog assisted police efforts to search for people.

Robots have arrived in everyday life

Robots were just tired dreams of the future in science fiction movies many decades ago. Probably few believed that they would actually become a permanent fixture in our lives at some point in the future. But if we take a look at the present, we are immediately taught better. In the meantime, we don’t just rely on robots when it comes to manufacturing cars or other tasks in large-scale industry. In the meantime, many have their very own robot in their own four walls. While the vacuum robot ensures clean floors, the mowing robot keeps the English lawn in the garden at an appropriate height.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hvWhE8nKwA

An example from Essen shows that robots can not only make our lives more comfortable, but can also save them. After an entire building complex in the North Rhine-Westphalian city caught fire, the emergency services rightly feared for the lives of the building’s occupants. However, as there was a danger of collapse, neither firefighters nor police officers were able to enter the burning building. In order to search for survivors, the emergency services relied without further ado on the support of a robot dog. This four-legged dog, equipped with cameras, set out to search for people in the ruins.

Fewer dangers for emergency services

The use of the robotic dog, which comes from the U.S. company Boston Dynamics, is a prime example of how work in high-risk occupations could be done in the future. Instead of putting their own lives at risk, emergency services can rely on the support of state-of-the-art technology, as was recently the case in Essen. The timing could hardly have been better. After all, the smart four-legged robot was only recently unveiled as the newest member of the NRW police force. One of the reasons for purchasing the robot is likely to be the lessons learned from the flooding in the Ahr Valley last year. After all, models like the Boston Dynamics quadruped are ideal for use in dangerous places.