Swedish high-tech firefighting robotics lab, Unifire AB, has developed a jaw-dropping fire fighting robot that is poised to protect weather decks on RoRo ships in the near future.
This video shows tests of Unifire AB’s FlameRanger™ autonomous fire fighting robot–a fully autonomous and remote controlled fire monitor system, which automatically, and without any human intervention, detects and suppresses fire.
As seen in the video, the system dynamically detects, follows, and suppresses fires in real time. It automatically turns the water on when fire is detected, and shuts the water off when it has been extinguished.
The tests were conducted on June 9-11, 2020, at Guttasjön Fire training site, outside Borås, Sweden, as part of the EU Funded LASH FIRE project. The objective of these tests is primarily to determine the feasibility of a fully autonomous fire detection and suppression system to protect cargo on open weather decks on ro-ro ships.
The project LASH FIRE (Legislative Assessment for Safety Hazards of Fire and Innovations in ro-ro ship Environment) aims to develop maritime fire safety solutions with innovative technologies, operations and applications.
The consortium is coordinated by RISE Research Institutes of Sweden and comprises 26 partners from 13 Member States of the European Union, including Unifire AB of Sweden and other industry partners, research institutes, universities, regulatory bodies, trade associations and experts in communication and external relations.
LASH FIRE will provide a basis for the revision of international maritime regulations and gives European industry knowledge to build safer and more competitive ships for sustainable transport. The European Commission, via its research and innovation programme Horizon 2020, invests 12.2 million euro in LASH FIRE over 4 years, starting in September 2019.
LASH FIRE has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement № 814975.
For more information about the LASH FIRE project, see: lashfire.eu.