Robot dog with flamethrower

[Frank Cox]

"Thermonator is the first-ever flamethrower-wielding robot dog. This quadruped is coupled with the ARC Flamethrower to deliver on-demand fire anywhere!"

https://throwflame.com/products/thermonator-robodog/

The video demo is quite something....

[Frank Angel]

It looks like as it moves forward while squirting accelerant, the accelerant blows back on the unit itself. You can see fire around the nozzle. it can catch its own self on fire. So a one-time use device?

[Randy Stankey]

I don't know but I get the sneaking suspicion that there's some digital special effects involved in making this video.

I know that the robot dog is real. Adam Savage plays with one in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7s1sr4JdlI

I don't like the way the dog moves across the screen. It looks like a sprite in a video game.
I don't like the way it looks like CGI that's been composite in to a real scene. It just doesn't sit right with me.

I know that the robot dog exists. I'm not surprised that some butthead decided to strap a flamethrower to one. Yes, I think you're right, Frank. It probably is little more than a one-use device... A Kamikazi robot, if you will.

I just can't believe that anybody would be stupid enough to actually make one of these things and let it out in the wild.

It's gotta' be a fake or, at least, a partial fake like two real but different scenes composited together.

[Leo Enticknap]

I just can't believe that anybody would be stupid enough to actually make one of these things and let it out in the wild.

When I saw the headline of this thread, and before opening it, I wondered if this was something that Elon Musk had come up with, possibly in an attempt to shore up Tesla's stock price..;

[Ryan Gallagher]

The dog is not a "spot" model... different breed, but real. They also have drone mounted flame-throwers (also real).

They pretend there is a real market for them in controlled burns fighting wildfires... but in reality it's just a toy/weapon "because they can", and because there are no regulations on flame-throwers in the US at this time.

The effort in the cinematic videos is fun none the less.

[Randy Stankey]

There might not be specific federal laws classifying flamethrowers as weapons but states may have law.

I happen to know that, in Massachusetts, there is a law against "infernal devices" which includes things like Molotov Cocktails and other kinds of fire-making things. I certainly would expect a flamethrower like this one to fall under that law.

I would also expect that other states have similar laws.

[Leo Enticknap]

I happen to know that, in Massachusetts, there is a law against "infernal devices"...

,,,so there are no Sony projectors in Boston, then?

[Randy Stankey]

Funny!! I was working for the Mass. Parole Board, at the time. I worked as a presentence researcher. When somebody got sent up the river, I was the guy who collected all the data from their criminal file and filled out the forms that judges would use to decide on the prisoner's sentence. It included everything from the prisoner's criminal record, their schooling, drug abuse, their propensity for violence and all that kind of stuff.

In one of those cases, I found an entry in one criminal file that said, "Possession of an Infernal Device." I didn't know what that meant so I took it to my supervisor who explained the charge and told me that it probably meant that the guy got caught throwing Molotovs.

I'm with you! Sony's should be banned in Boston on the grounds of being "infernal devices!"

[Marcel Birgelen]

I'm thinking about the many legitimate use-cases for such a contraption.

I came up with one:
- Pitmaster at the local BBQ shack?

[Leo Enticknap]

I'm guessing that my Tea Party-era forebears (sorry!) came up with "infernal device" - "infernal machine" was an ancient English term for a bomb. It was used in a contemporary report of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605, and reappeared regularly throughout the following centuries, including in reference to this charming contraption. As the mini-Mechagodzilla flame throwing pooch illustrates, the phrase clearly still has its uses!

[Frank Cox]

I'm thinking about the many legitimate use-cases for such a contraption.

One sorta legitimate use might be for starting backfires for forest firefighting.

But that takes place in such rough country that I don't think it would be maneuverable enough to make it through the brush and it's probably not rugged enough for that environment anyway.

I guess it's an excuse for existing.

[Randy Stankey]

Boston Dynamics makes a dog-bot that can walk up and down stairs: Spot | Boston Dynamics
It can also go through some pretty rough terrain. I don't doubt that it could navigate outdoors but I'm not so sure it could navigate through brush and trees during a forest fire without human help.

Boston Dynamics also makes a human robot that can navigate stairs. I've seen others that can jump and do back flips.

The only legitimate, civilian use for a flamethrower that I can think of is fighting forest fires. Even for military use, I can't think of many good uses for one. You have to get close to your target, carrying a relatively large piece of equipment. By the time you get close enough, you would be well within shooting range of the enemy. You'd have to carry a rifle and a flamethrower...or a combination rifle-flamethrower...but, regardless, it would be cumbersome and dangerous.

I think that dropping incendiary devices from the air is a much better and safer idea.

IMO, using a robot dog to fight fire with a flamethrower is little more than a thin excuse to legitimize a hare brained idea.

As for "Infernal Machines," Massachusetts is a commonwealth state. Even though all commonwealths in the US have converted to statutory law, Massachusetts still retains a strong common law tradition. That's where I think the "Infernal Device/Machine" statutes originate.

Since, as Leo says, Boston has a historical connection to England from colonial times, I think his characterization is pretty accurate.

I think that other states would have similar laws on their books, governing things like flamethrowers as "Infernal Devices" even if they don't use such officious language.