The devastating fire at Notre Dame de Paris last week could have taken a turn for the worse if not for the help of one of the Paris Fire Brigade's newest team member, Colossus. It is a caterpillar-tracked tank-bot that the team sent in when the fire became too dangerous for human firefighters to combat.
One might even say it helped turn the tide; it extinguished the blaze and largely saved 850 years of history-and no civilians or firefighters were killed in the process.
"Colossus helped extinguish the fire and lower the temperature inside the nave (Notre Dame's main chamber)", says Paris Fire Brigade spokesperson Gabriel Plus told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"It was a tragic moment for all French citizens, but we are very proud to support the firemen to help protect this monument and also protect lives," said Cyril Kabbara, co-founder of Shark Robotics, the French company that developed Colossus in concert with the Paris Fire Brigade.
"It was a terrible situation, but it's really amazing to see them put that robot to work and protect firefighters," said Michael Howe, president of Howe and Howe Technologies (a U.S. robotics company).
"We're always going to need the human element," he said, but robots have proven to be an important firefighting tool. "It's 100 percent the future."
Colossus only stands two-and-a-half feet tall, despite its name but don't underestimate it: Weighing in at just over 1,000 pounds, it can carry another 1,100 pounds of gear or people. Kabbara said Colossus' water cannon would usually take up to three people to operate, and the hose, when full of water, can take ten people to carry.
During a fire, these robo-firefighters help firefighters by creating a "standoff" (a safety buffer between the firefighter and the hazardous environment) and freeing them up for other tasks. "With Colossus, they are able to do another mission, for example, rescue someone " (or save some things that are valuable) he said.
Outside of Paris, Shark Robotics has delivered other bots to fire department in Bordeaux, France and will soon ship more to Charleroi, Belgium and the Mediterranean port city of Marseille, France, thus we will definitely be seeing more of Colossus in the future.
Fires most of the times completely devastate cities, buildings, and people's lives; it is, in fact, one of humanity's greatest foe. These robotic reinforcements will help make the never-ending battle at the very least a fair fight.
