US Navy tests robot fire-fighters

Fire-fighting robots designed to withstand intense heat are to be tested by the US Navy this summer. The Shipboard Autonomous Fire-fighting Robot (SAFFiR) has been built by engineers at Virginia Tech and other US universities. The robots are expected to perform a variety of tasks - balancing, turning valves, picking up and dragging a fire hose and jetting water on the fire. They also have a vision system to search for survivors. "The human-sized autonomous robot is capable of finding and suppressing shipboard fires and working seamlessly with human fire-fighters," says the Office of Naval Research's website, according to BBC.