Hyundai designed a specialized vehicle to operate in hazardous situations and ensure greater safety for South Korean firefighters. The robots were delivered at the end of February.
The multinational donated four auxiliary robots to the 119 National Rescue Headquarters in the city of Namyangju and another two to the fire department of North Chungcheong Province. They were first deployed on January 30.
Over the past ten years, the Korea National Fire Agency estimated that about 1,788 firefighters were injured or killed while combating fires.
The new vehicles are designed to operate in the early stages of fires, providing location information to firefighters and acting in environments with conditions extreme for the human body.
Hyundai developed the “robot firefighters” based on the HR-Sherpa military vehicle, developed by Hyundai Rotem.
They are equipped with infrared cameras with live streaming capability, allowing firefighters to map potential victims for rescue.
The vehicles are equipped with powerful water jets that serve both to extinguish flames and to cool the robots.
The company stated that they can maintain a temperature of 50 to 60 °C, even in conditions where the fire can reach 800 °C.
+Watch the demonstration clip of the firefighter support robot
“We hope they serve as reliable teammates, entering dangerous locations before others to ensure firefighter safety,” said the automaker’s CEO, Euisun Chung, in a statement. Source and images: Hyundai Motor Group Official Release. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
