If you have been questioning when you’ll order the flame-throwing robot that Ohio-based Throwflame first introduced final summer season, that day has lastly arrived. The Thermonator, what Throwflame payments as “the first-ever flamethrower-wielding robot dog” is now accessible for buy. The worth? $9,420.
Thermonator is a quadruped robot with an ARC flamethrower mounted to its again, fueled by gasoline or napalm. It options a one-hour battery, a 30-foot flame-throwing vary, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity for distant management by way of a smartphone.
It additionally consists of a LIDAR sensor for mapping and impediment avoidance, laser sighting, and first-person view (FPV) navigation by way of an onboard digicam. The product seems to combine a model of the Unitree Go2 robot quadruped that retails alone for $1,600 in its base configuration.
The firm lists attainable purposes of the brand new robot as “wildfire management and prevention,” “agricultural administration,” “ecological conservation,” “snow and ice elimination,” and “leisure and SFX.” But most of all, it units issues on fireplace in a number of real-world situations.
Back in 2018, Elon Musk made the information for providing an official Boring Company flamethrower that reportedly offered 10,000 models in 48 hours. It sparked some controversy as a result of flamethrowers can additionally double as weapons or potentially start wildfires.
In the US, flamethrowers are legally unregulated in 48 states and should not thought of firearms by federal companies. Restrictions exist in Maryland, the place flamethrowers require a Federal Firearms License to personal, and California, the place the vary of flamethrowers can not exceed 10 toes.
Even so, to state the plain, flamethrowers can simply burn each issues and folks, beginning fires and wreaking havoc if not used safely. Accordingly, the Thermonator is likely to be one Christmas current it is best to skip for little Johnny this yr.