BurnBot RX2: Robot burns swaths for wildfire fighting
The spread of wildfires can be hampered by firebreaks. A remote-controlled robot can create them temporarily.
The BurnBot RX2 burns a swathe through the grassland to provide protection against the spread of wildfires.
(Image: BurnBot/Screenshot)
US company BurnBot presented its RX2 robot for wildfire fighting to officials in Nevada County, California. The robot can burn swaths into the ground, thus preventing the spread of wildfires or helping to protect objects. The method is said to be more ecological than creating firebreaks with shovels or bulldozers.
In California, devastating wildfires repeatedly rage during the summer months, not only endangering people, animals, and houses but also destroying ecological land areas for years. The American Forests Foundation (AFF) and other US organizations are therefore looking for ways to make wildfire fighting more effective and to stop the spread of wildfires as quickly and as widely as possible.
Remote-controlled operation
The BurnBot RX2 represents one possibility. The RX2 is a robot with tracked drive and a large mobile combustion chamber in a trailer. The robot can be completely controlled remotely so that it can be used in the immediate vicinity of wildfires without firefighters being endangered. The remote control works at a distance of up to 152 m. The company is already working on being able to operate the robot autonomously. In the future, this could also work in swarm operation, so that several of these then autonomous robots could jointly contain a wildfire.
The task of the RX2 robot is to create a burn scar so that the fire has no more fuel and can only advance up to a defined line. Wildfires can thus be controlled more easily, provided that embers do not overcome the firebreaks.
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In addition to direction and speed, the operator can precisely adjust the combustion parameters of the RX2. These include, for example, the temperature in the combustion chamber and the height of the propane torches in the combustion chamber. Large fans above the combustion chamber blow in oxygen to feed the fire in the combustion chamber and generate the high temperatures required for combustion. Steel rollers at the rear of the combustion chamber ensure that pressure is applied to the embers on the ground to create a precise burn swath. Water mist then extinguishes the remaining embers to avoid creating unintended fires.
In principle, the robot can operate continuously 24/7 and cope with most weather conditions. Its maximum speed is around 32 km/h. It is also said to be deployable on uneven terrain with gradients of up to 58 degrees.
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The RX2 robot is well suited for firefighting in Nevada County because the local vegetation, mainly grassland, is favorable for the system. BurnBot states that the robot treats the ground more gently when burning the swaths than is possible with bulldozers or shovels. The ecological soil structure is preserved by burning, in contrast to tearing up the soil. Only “natural fire cycles” are mimicked. The spread of invasive plant species, which can establish themselves more easily in torn-up soil, is thus avoided.
BurnBot intends to deploy the robot for wildfire fighting in Nevada County in 2026 on larger, open, and flat terrain formations. However, for steep areas in urban areas, firebreaks will continue to be dug with shovels for now.
(olb)
