A U.S. company unveiled its latest product Friday, a robotic dog equipped with a flamethrower. Although it may look like a weapon from a dystopian sci-fi movie, the manufacturer claims its purposes are entirely civilian.
Throwflame, a flame-thrower manufacturer from Cleveland, Ohio, has released a frightening video of its latest innovation: A laser-guided, flame-throwing, robot dog named “Thermonator” via its Twitter account. The robot canine is on sale for $9,420 and will be available throughout the United States.
It’s called “Thermonator” 🔥 #Robotics #flamethrower pic.twitter.com/pcBB2zGYHj
— Throwflame (@throwflame) April 19, 2024
Throwflame claims to be the oldest manufacturer of flamethrowers in the United States, and despite the Thermanator’s menacing qualities, it is primarily intended for use in the management of wildlife and agriculture, as well as snow/ice removal, and ‘entertainment’, according to its website. The robot pup can be remotely controlled and comes equipped with a laser sight. The attached flame-thrower is based on the company’s own ARC model which can fire flames up to 30 feet.
The Thermomator’s obvious allusions to the Terminator movie series were quickly picked up by social media users as footage of it went semi-viral on Twitter.
“New Fear Unlocked …” entrepreneur Mario Nawfal posted. “New robot dog ‘Thermonator’ only $9.5k — comes with a free fire extinguisher … I hope.”
“Logs into X: *sees the new Thermonator flame throwing robot dog that will ultimately kill me after I decline the next vaccine and shutdown. Logs out of X,” journalist Savanah Hernandez wrote on the platform. (RELATED: NYC Mayor Eric Adams Shows Off Police Robots At Press Conference)
Throwflame’s latest innovation will likely inspire calls for greater government oversight in robotics, which is still a largely unregulated space at the federal level, according to the Robotics Law Journal.
Isaac Asimov’s three laws of robotics, 1965 pic.twitter.com/cUOSWBmMOo
— Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) January 2, 2023
However, human anxieties over the dangers of robots are nothing new. Science fiction writer Isaac Asimov penned his famous “Three Laws Laws of Robotics” in his 1942 short story, “Runaround,” including, “A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.” His laws still shape some conversations around the ethics of artificial intelligence and robotics to this day, according to Unite.AI.