An American company is marketing a somewhat unusual robot dog: it is equipped with a flamethrower on its back. The company highlights several peaceful uses, but the name of the machine oozes hostility: Thermonator.
America is definitely a country full of surprises. You probably remember the sale in 2018 of a flamethrower by The Boring Company, one of Elon Musk’s companies. Perhaps you have also come across this video, dated 2015, of an American who added a flamethrower to his drone. There is now something new in this segment.
Specializing in flamethrowers, the American company Throwflame had the idea of grafting one… onto a robot dog. And to get everyone in the mood, the company thought the name Thermonator sounded great. It refers to the famous Terminator from Ridley Scott’s films and to the Greek root thermos: hot.
According to Throwflame, “ The Thermonator is the very first flame-throwing robot dog. » The quadruped is coupled to an ARC flamethrower (one of the products sold by the company) and can “ provide fire on demand anywhere. » The range of the flames is just over nine meters, while the robot has a maximum speed of 9.6 km/h.
On a technical level, Throwflame did not make the robot dog itself. It obviously uses a platform designed by the Chinese company Unitree Robotics, specializing in the manufacture of robots, whether quadrupedal or humanoid. The model that Throwflame uses is the Go2 robot, sold for $1,600 (around 1,500 euros).
The machine has, according to Throwflame, an autonomy of one hour and communicates via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It has obstacle avoidance capability, combined with Lidar mapping and laser aiming. We also note a camera which allows you to have a first-person view from a remote screen, on the robot’s control stick.
The Thermonator is on sale, but…
This project may seem familiar to you: this is not surprising. It turns out that we were already talking about the Thermonator at the end of May 2023, because that is the date that he was presented. A pre-order phase followed in June. What changes today is that the device is now for sale on the Throwflame website.
Count on 9,420 dollars (around 8,815 euros) to get your hands on it — shipping is free in the United States. The prospect of importing such equipment into France should be ruled out. Flamethrowers fall into the category of war materials – this is category A. It is prohibited to acquire and possess them.
Obviously, Throwflame avoids presenting its product as a weapon: it is certainly “ designed to ignite targets remotely in dangerous conditions “, but the company gives examples of peaceful use:
- forest fire control and prevention;
- agricultural management;
- ecological conservation;
- snow and ice removal;
- entertainment and special effects.
The Penal Code provides for up to 5 years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros, through article 222-52, for the act of acquiring, holding or transferring war materials, weapons, elements of weapons or ammunition falling under categories A or B, without authorization. So it’s better not to play with fire. Literally or legally.
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