Prototype This!: "Robotic Firefighter"- Tonight On The Discovery Channel

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Tonight at 10PM EST on the Discovery Channel (and repeating at 2AM):

Prototype This!

Robotic Firefighter Assistant

The team attempts to build a hi-tech Pyro Pack to help firemen see in burning buildings and a robotic fireman to carry gear up flights of stairs and a victim back down.

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/prototype-this...otype-this.html

Will also repeat this weekend and on the Science Channel.

Sound interesting, and I'm looking foward to watching!!

[Monty 35]

The show is a bit corny - and could probably be edited down - but ... they do have some interesting, out of the box ideas.

Looks like this episode is following that theme - I like the idea of the pyro-pack, the heads up display, firefighter locator and stuff.

However, I was thinking earlier, how receptive is the Fire Service to new ideas?

How about the FIT-5? How many departments are actively using something like that?

I was reading the November issue of Fire Rescue. They had a good article in there about CAFS and a case study of a department using it with positive results. How come more folk aren't?

It seems to be that there is a lot of resistance to any change. I wonder how much of this is resistance by troops on the ground? How much by leadership at the top? How much by the municipal / budget manager?

As a whole, do we really want things that are going to make our job easier / safer / quicker????

[FFPCogs 863]

Tradition and my self admitted stone age mentality vis a vis "new" tactics and some technology aside, I must say that I was fairly impressed and pleasantly suprised by the demonstrations. Both ideas I think would serve us well after exhausting real world tests. Like Monty I find the Pro pack concept is a really good step forward in terms of personal safety/accountability, as mentioned in the show even the rounded "harness" would be less prone to getting caught up.

Mostly though I guess my gut reaction is Damn why didn't I think of that !!!

Stay Safe

Cogs

[FFPCogs 863]

I wouldn't be suprised to see these things floating around CA in the next few years.