See the "Colossus" Firefighting Robot That Helped Save Notre Dame

When the fire got too dangerous for humans to battle alone, the Paris Fire Brigade called in Colossus.

Blaze-Battling Bot

When soaring temperatures and a roof on the brink of collapse made it too dangerous for humans to continue battling the Notre Dame blaze on Monday, the Paris Fire Brigade called in a firefighting robot named Colossus — a stunning demonstration of how high-tech robots are helping emergency responders stay safe on the job.

"It was a terrible situation, but it’s really amazing to see them put that robot to work and protect firefighters," Michael Howe, president of a company that manufactures another type of firefighting robot, told Popular Mechanics, later adding that the tech is "100 percent the future."

 

Colossal Help

French robotics manufacturer Shark Robotics created the 1,100-pound Colossus robot, which is waterproof, fireproof, and resistant to thermal radiation.

Firefighters can equip the robot with a variety of tools, including the water canon that the French firefighters used to blast the Notre Dame fire with more than 660 gallons of water per minute. It's operated via a joystick, which can function up to 1,000 feet away from the robot.

Robot Co-Worker

Despite Colossus' advantages over human firefighters, Shark Robotics' co-founder Cyril Kabbara doesn't envision the bot ever operating fully autonomously.

"This is a robot that is designed to remove humans from danger," Kabbara told The Washington Post. "Not to replace (humans) but to act as operational support for firefighters."

READ MORE: Firefighters had a secret weapon when Notre Dame caught fire: A robot named ‘Colossus’ [The Washington Post]

More on robot firefighters: These Autonomous Bots Battle Blazes Too Dangerous for Firefighters