OLE pill bug robot concept could fight forest fires

German researchers at the University of Madgeburg-Stendal have developed a concept for a robot shaped like a pill millipede that could potentially detect and fight forest fires. Were the "OLE" a real robot, it would be able to scuttle around the forest floor at speeds of around 6 to 12 MPH, using infrared and "biosensors" to detect fire sources. If it gets into trouble, it can curl up just like a real pill bug and be fully protected thanks to a ceramic-fibre compound shell that can withstand temperature of 1,300 Degrees Centigrade. According to the researchers, 30 of these OLEs could protect a forest area as large as 2,700 square miles, whilst simultaneously freaking out hundreds of forest animals.

[Via GearFuse; thanks, Steve]

[virtualjustice @ Aug 12th 2007 5:48PM]

were do they come up with these ideas?

[Jeff @ Aug 13th 2007 2:13AM]

It's gotta be from Pokemon~ OLE pill bug， I pick YOU !!!!!!!

[Paul @ Aug 12th 2007 5:52PM]

Just wait for the day when it starts to get bored with putting out fires and starts setting them...

[DickHardknocks @ Aug 12th 2007 5:58PM]

But can it play Doom?

[garver @ Aug 13th 2007 2:46AM]

This has nothing to do with a computer or anything that is capable of running doom, So no this cant run doom.

[kyle allen @ Aug 13th 2007 3:20AM]

it can bring it about tho.

[Jerry @ Aug 12th 2007 5:59PM]

Or starts to eat the local campers...

[Shmoe @ Aug 12th 2007 6:01PM]

Or freaking out boy/girl scout hikers on the trail or better yet, putting out their camp fires.

[jaalin @ Aug 12th 2007 6:08PM]

how much water can it hold? seems like to effectively combat a forest fire it will need to lug around quite a bit, which increases the weight load, which increases power consumption, etc. what's going to power this thing, solar panels?

not to mention the sheer mind-boggling task of programming a walking program that can account for uneven terrain and frequent obstacles.

it's an interesting idea and could be a worthwhile project to take on... in about 100 years. by then, all the trees of the world will have been cut down by japanese making chopsticks.

[nih @ Aug 13th 2007 4:17AM]

Probably enough for a girlscout wet t-shirt contest. Rawr.

[rockintom @ Aug 13th 2007 8:28AM]

Er, you do know that most girl scouts are under 18, right? Pedo.

[Steve @ Aug 12th 2007 6:16PM]

whats a centigrade

[paul34 @ Aug 12th 2007 6:25PM]

It's a failing grade the Forest Fire God (fireman) assigns to ideas that go against his power. Hail the gods and their power or suffer their wrath.

[virtualjustice @ Aug 12th 2007 6:31PM]

centigrade? you're kidding right?

[The Aggie CEO™ @ Aug 12th 2007 6:34PM]

. . . .

its what EVERYONE ELSE is the world is on BUT the US........lol

[Andrew Fong @ Aug 12th 2007 7:01PM]

Google the term before posting.

[Taylor @ Aug 12th 2007 7:44PM]

I think it's similar to this "al-loo-mini-um" i keep hearing about...
-Taylor

[Sirius @ Aug 12th 2007 7:57PM]

What's a Fahrenheit?

What's a Kelvin, for that matter?

/end_sarcasm

[Steve @ Aug 12th 2007 8:46PM]

oh, its like a celcius!!
i get it, but you have to do like 5 times the centigrade to equal foreignheight. or divide by 9 to get centigrade

[Mr. Yetti @ Aug 12th 2007 9:25PM]

...moving on...

[3rdsun @ Aug 12th 2007 6:26PM]

I for one welcome our forest fighting centipede-like robot overlords.

[DarkAardvark @ Aug 12th 2007 6:29PM]

thats stupid, IMO. i mean, half of those trees in the forest are meant to burn down. look at how they spread their seeds. the only way the seed pod can open is from high heat. while fires kill trees, this damn robot would, essentially, be killing them for good. nice thinking!

[butterfly @ Aug 13th 2007 12:19AM]

You are correct that the way a forest stays alive is by creating fires. However, there are too many towns with residents that love living in these forested areas such as So. Lake Tahoe, CA. On June 24, 2007, residents watched as neighboring houses of permanent residents were reduced to ashes within minutes. Families had only minutes to flee. The cause was an illegal campfire that was thought to be "out". Maybe if one of these centipedes had been left to stand guard, 254 homes would not have been lost. The Japanese have a genuine idea but more R&D is needed and I hope they have a successful product soon.

[Gadgeteer @ Aug 13th 2007 10:31PM]

Good point butterfly.
the most plausible use for these is within a narrow band between forests and residencies - thus protecting human infrastructure and life whilst allowing the forests to continue their natural propagation processes.

But if that's the case, then surely a well distributed fixed installation would be more practical than something trundling along at 12 mph with a limited supply of extinguisher.

Still, these do look pretty cool, and the faces on those cub scouts when they see one come trundling out of the forest to snuff out their camp fire would be priceless.

[humpty @ Aug 12th 2007 6:32PM]

Good thing they put eyes on it..otherwise, it would look like its spewing gas from its ass.

[virtualjustice @ Aug 12th 2007 6:36PM]

LMFAO!

[Kris S. @ Aug 12th 2007 7:09PM]

Funniest Engadget comment of the year!

ROFL

[The Aggie CEO™ @ Aug 12th 2007 6:35PM]

does it follow the 3 laws though??

[Tomoki @ Aug 12th 2007 8:51PM]

Excellent question. We wouldn't want the pill bug to find out it has a will of its own and enslave us with their horrid CO2 spray.

[Tomoki @ Aug 12th 2007 8:52PM]

Ignore my posession typo.

[Vegetable @ Aug 13th 2007 1:48AM]

You had it in the right possessive case, and then you corrected it to the incorrect form, WHILE misspelling possession.

Nice.

[John Doe @ Aug 12th 2007 6:50PM]

The only place things like this would be of use would be in areas prone to fires. Or a place that needs to avoid fires at all costs. The one big place that comes to mind in the boundary Waters Canoe Area in Northern Minnesota \ Ontario. The trees that fell something like 10+ years ago in one hell of a storm are getting extremely dry at this point. The DNR has done controlled burns and distributed solutions to help the wood decompose faster however its still a major issue up there. More so when you consider how many towns are surrounded or are in close proximity to this area.
Dropping these things in high concentrations could definitely help. But at 6 to 12 MPH the key word is concentration. 10+ of these things in 1 square mile. I mean if a fire is a quarter of a mile away and this thing needs to get there. By the time it does get there you would have a nice fire going. So unless these thing are cheap as hell, unlikely. It’s pretty pointless. Also as has been mentioned the picture above is best case scenario for terrain. I challenge one of these things to get through a quarter mile in the BWCA. The thing would get stuck in 5 minutes. How if it could fly like a Hunter Killer from the terminator Series. . . that would be a different matter. Allow it to refill at the closest lake.

[Andrew Fong @ Aug 12th 2007 7:02PM]

I could see these things walking into campgrounds and putting out cooking fires.

[TJ Joyce @ Aug 12th 2007 7:04PM]

Just as long as in the future they develop a hunting season for it. Can you imagine the confusion of some West Virginian backcountry redneck out huntin' squirrel when he comes across one of these? "Twas an alien, swear to god, it done scampered on over and shat white alien foam all over my cigarette!"

[Colin Fraizer @ Aug 12th 2007 7:18PM]

Why OLE? Shouldn't it provide a .Net interface? Or CORBA?

[js @ Aug 12th 2007 7:33PM]

Will it blend?

[Taylor @ Aug 12th 2007 7:45PM]

Doesn't everything?
-Taylor

[Vegetable @ Aug 13th 2007 1:48AM]

Everything blends.

-Comment stating everything blends written by Vegetable.

[Sirius @ Aug 12th 2007 8:01PM]

Its feet looks like it'll sink nicely into muddy decomposing plant matter.. But I'd say these will be good for areas like Sydney, Aust., where there's a large city right beside a forest that catches fire easily...

[nih @ Aug 13th 2007 4:21AM]

I guess it would be beyond comprehension to change the feet eh. You sure showed them.

[Clarence @ Aug 12th 2007 8:40PM]

Awesome! They might even start having their own kind and soon taking over mankind.

[Garst @ Aug 12th 2007 10:44PM]

Someone need to add a camera to the front of this and go around terrorizing campers and pumas. That would be funny to watch one of these things attack a puma with burst of water. Then when the puma tries to attack have the thing roll into a ball.

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Aug 12th 2007 11:17PM]

Please flag willj778's comment as the appropriate spam that it is. Click the exclamation mark ! instead of the normal -/+. Don't let this junk crap up engadget.

[Intellectualdiot @ Aug 12th 2007 11:19PM]

I dub thee:

Tachikoma!

[gmwong @ Aug 12th 2007 11:19PM]

By the time they come out lightsabers will be the number one cause of forest fires...

[gmwong @ Aug 12th 2007 11:20PM]

Maybe you can catch it in a pokeball... wouldn't that be clever.

[kyle allen @ Aug 13th 2007 3:25AM]

in my opinion the words robot, forest, and 12mph should never be in the same article....it gives me nightmares

[Disasterboy @ Aug 13th 2007 5:35AM]

i reckon they'd fill it with foam/powder, not water, that would be stupidly heavy.

seeing as we're on the subject:

OLE pillbug concept fire-fighting forest robot/tachikoma

USE HYDROPUMP!

[Akiosarin @ Aug 18th 2007 5:24PM]

I dont thinkies they have

[JROBERTS @ Aug 27th 2007 7:49PM]

The only forest in which this machine could effectively navigate is a forest with frequent fires, a forest cleared of deadfall and debris. Ironic.