ABB Robots and the Rise of Firefighting Robots

From 1942 fire crews to DEEP Robotics' 60-metre water cannon robots, and how ABB Foundry Plus 2 arms and the Robot Charger already work in heat and danger.

INDUSTRIAL ROBOTICS

Chat With Robot

9/25/20261 min read

In 1942, firemen of Britain's National Fire Service trained in Fulham, London, by hosing down a burning house during a Civil Defence exercise. Firefighting has always meant sending people toward fire and smoke, with hoses, ladders and breathing sets as the main tools.

Black and white photo of helmeted firemen aiming a hose at a burning house

National Fire Service firemen tackle a blaze during a Civil Defence exercise in Fulham, London, 1942. Photo: Ministry of Information / Imperial War Museums via Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

Remote-controlled fire robots arrived much later. Tracked machines such as the Colossus, which the Paris fire brigade used at Notre-Dame in 2019, carry a water cannon into places too hot or unstable for crews while firefighters steer from a safe distance.

Red and black tracked robot with a water cannon parked in front of a red fire van

A Colossus firefighting robot of the Marseille marine fire battalion. Photo: Manon.vermenouze / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In September, DEEP Robotics explained how its four-legged fire robots carry a wireless water cannon that reaches up to 60 metres, with a dual-layer water spray to keep them cool. In a high-rise drill this year, one carried the cannon to a fire on the 19th floor. On September 24, Taichung's fire bureau ran an exercise in which robots sent live data to commanders.

Red and black tracked robot carrying a large water nozzle

A POK Jupiter tracked firefighting robot with its water cannon. Photo: Reise Reise / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

ABB doesn't make firefighting robots, but its arms already work around heat and danger. Robots with Foundry Plus 2 protection, like this IRB 1300, are sealed to IP67 for hot, wet foundry cells, and ABB IRB 6700 robots grind steel parts in showers of sparks.

White ABB IRB 1300 robot labelled Foundry Plus 2 working in an enclosed cell

An ABB IRB 1300 with Foundry Plus 2 protection, sealed to IP67. Photo: ABB

In underground mines, ABB's Robot Charger, tested with Boliden and LKAB, loads explosives into drill holes so miners can stay back. The same setup, a robot on a mobile base with a remote operator, could move a smoking battery or hold a nozzle inside a burning plant.

ABB robot arm on a mining vehicle facing a rock face in a tunnel

ABB's Robot Charger, tested with Boliden and LKAB, loads blast holes underground. Photo: ABB

I expect fire crews to send robots in first for scouting and cooling while people make the calls. At home, the first useful step is probably smaller: a robot that checks why the smoke alarm is going off and sends a picture before anyone opens a hot door.

White ABB industrial robot grinding a round steel part with sparks flying

An ABB IRB 6700 grinding a steel part in Teqram's EasyGrinder cell at Ancofer. Photo: ABB

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