US Navy introduces terrifying ‘robot fireman’

Octavia the robot can trundle through flames, taking instructions in sign language from a human handler - and put out fires with a compressed air/water hose, reports the Daily Mail.

There is just one problem - who would want to be saved by a robot that looks like an evil doll come to life? 

Octavia was unveiled by the US Navy’s research wing, and is built to work alongside human firefighters - using infrared cameras to interpret ‘see’. She can also receive voice commands. “Even in peacetime, fires represent one of the greatest risks to the US Naval Fleet,” says the US Navy’s Naval Research Laboratory.

Octavia is built to work with a human team-mates - and is built to recognise trusted individuals, and take command from those. 

The Navy says the robot is built for ‘shoulder-to-shoulder’ damage control.

“The human is able to provide situational information to the robot by voice and gestural commands,” says the US Navy. Neverthless, the Navy admits that the robot still needs some fine tuning. Specifically, the Navy aims to make Octavia interact more ‘naturally’ with team mates - and to make the robot better at recognising what is and isn’t a fire. 

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