Japanese use robotic Lassie to pull victims from fires

Ok, so that big hulking autonomous vehicle pictured above looks nothing like little Timmy's bestest bud (except maybe in the later years, when he let the fame get to his head), but Lassie and this yellow Japanese firefighting bot do have one thing in common: no fear of charging into a burning building and pulling out the victims with their jaws or claws, respectively. From the looks of things, these humanitarian-tank-cum-playground-slides are controlled by a remote operator looking through that camera above the headlights -- which is definitely a good thing, because we don't really want robots pinching at us with their hydraulic fingers until machine vision has significantly improved. And of course, team this up with a hosebot, snakebot, or fire-snuffing flower, and you've just obviated the need for millions of firefighters worldwide, as well as crushed the hopes and dreams of countless small, career-minded children.

[Via Uber-Review]

[nizzy1115 @ Mar 17th 2007 7:36PM]

scary, it looks like a wood chipper to me...

[JoshLowry @ Mar 17th 2007 7:50PM]

Yeah, it's a good thing it knows how to pick up the unconscious. (Ha, looks like by the neck?)

If that thing with its massive claws came chasing after me in a fire I wouldn't be in it til I did pass out. The first picture looks like they're feeding it a human, all it needs is teeth around the opening. XD


- Josh

Where's your head at? - http://www.StateOfBrain.com

[d-party @ Mar 26th 2007 9:12AM]

That is some funny shit Josh. Humor at it's best right here folks. "Where's your head at?" HaHaHa.

[Nikita @ Mar 17th 2007 7:58PM]

That looks too big to be used in practical fire applications. how is it going to save people in a fire if it can't get in through the door?

[Supi @ Mar 17th 2007 8:02PM]

That robot somehow reminds me of this truck in the movie Soylent green: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b9/Soylent_Green_cover.jpg

[jason @ Mar 17th 2007 8:29PM]

almost like i-robot too after will was being chased and the big machines came and cleaned up the mess

[Justin @ Mar 17th 2007 8:43PM]

@ Nikita

- That's cuz it doesn't plan on fitting through the door! It's just gonna run through everything and smash into stuff to find the humans - that is if they haven't killed them already...

@ Jason

- That totally came to mind!

This robot looks like it's going to eat you... I would rather run than getting picked up by this thing

[Steven @ Mar 17th 2007 8:46PM]

I love how it gently handles the human!

[Paco @ Mar 17th 2007 8:48PM]

I love it. When our robotic overlords take over they will have something to clean up our bodies.

[PreGHz @ Mar 17th 2007 8:50PM]

Dude, no way. I'd flip out if something like this came charging at me, trying to put me in its stomach. Even more so if a Japanese guy says "Don'tuh wurree. You be safe in stoh-mach!"

I'll take my chances with something natural, like fire, thank you very much.

[jwer @ Mar 17th 2007 10:23PM]

Um. Lassie was a girl. Hence the name "Lassie".

[Jon @ Mar 17th 2007 10:39PM]

Erhem..

...tank-come-playground...

or is it just me?

[Miguel @ Mar 19th 2007 3:22AM]

@Jon:

It's just you. "Cum" is the Latin word for "with," hence the similar-sounding Spanish "con." (Derived from the Latin root, whereas the English "with" is Germanic in origin.) It functions in language as a sort of "/". This would be a tank-with-playground-slide or a tank/playground slide.

As to the issue:

Keep that thing the Hell away from me. Burning building or not.

[John Bunka @ Mar 17th 2007 11:24PM]

Imagine waking up in that thing; I'd be freaked out. I hope it comes with AC!

[Nogami @ Mar 18th 2007 1:55AM]

Yup, woodchipper was also my first thought...

[retro @ Mar 18th 2007 2:23AM]

SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE

[Evan A @ Mar 18th 2007 2:51AM]

Cool. Looks like a Wood Chipper to me.

I want one. :)

[dov @ Mar 18th 2007 6:13AM]

LOL..
It makes me think also, that chopping is next.. :D

[elkiev71 @ Mar 18th 2007 7:03AM]

That's totally 'Mek-Quake' from the ABC Warriors!!
http://bp2.blogger.com/_6rF2PP4knJE/Rf0a1Yw-jnI/AAAAAAAAABE/ZEKb_Gl5wPo/s1600-h/mek3.jpg

[Karl Viklund @ Mar 18th 2007 9:37AM]

Hahahhahahaha...

This is so stupid. The humans will have died before the robot is finished. It's much faster and safer for all it a human just do it. Japanese people always trying to do everything with robots, ok it's cool but it's far from efficient and won't work well in real life and real situations. This is cool, but it's just stupid. It's the engineers playground, the engineers sandbox. It's robots by nerds for nerds. This is just plain stupid technology.

[fontendet24 @ Mar 18th 2007 9:58AM]

Looks like garbage robot. Dead bodies will be fast collected and recycled.

I think that in the future we will have some factories that will recycle all - furniture, garbage and dead people - to clean our environment and because any free land for cemetries will be overloaded and very expensive to bury.

[Grant @ Mar 18th 2007 11:57AM]

So, it has finally happened.

Machines that eat people.

I thought SkyNet would have come first.

[Chris @ Mar 18th 2007 2:31PM]

Uhh,sure, whatever you say... I think I will go with option B that while they say it could be used to extract bodies from burning building, its likely more appropriate to remove bodies from a bio-hazard or other contamination zone? Tokyou has already had one gas attack.

[Fire Hazard @ Mar 19th 2007 1:06AM]

I for one welcome our new lifesaving, corpse collecting, playground slide equipped robotic overlords.

[RC @ Mar 19th 2007 7:39AM]

I think people trapped in burning buildings will find their own way out, rather than be dragged out by that... whatever it is.

@jwer: 'Um. Lassie was a girl. Hence the name "Lassie".'
Actually the dog that played the original Lassie was male, not female. (Sorry: I'm pedantic.)

@Grant: 'I thought SkyNet would have come first.'
You obviously haven't heard - we Brits have already launched Skynet: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6434773.stm

[iptydafu @ Mar 19th 2007 8:11AM]

Seems kind of complicated just to snatch chains.

[dan @ Mar 19th 2007 11:49AM]

Funny. All I think of when I see this is...

"Bring out your dead. *Ding* Bring out your dead..."

[musanti @ Mar 19th 2007 8:56PM]

killer klowns from outer space.... definitely...

[Moh @ Mar 30th 2007 2:03AM]

Well there seems to be another robot in the pipeline that can now lift people out of a bed.

http://www.coolasfunk.com/the-cool-and-the-funky/robot-that-can-sit-up-and-pick-people-up.html