The market has offered us a large number of dangerous toys but this definitely sits at a different level. A company from Ohio called Throwflame announced last year that it would sell its Thermonator, a robot dog with a flamethrower, to the general public… and has just become a reality: for just under ten thousand dollars, its owners will be able to use it in a wide variety of activities, from weed control to generating special effects.
Remember the scandal when Elon started selling flamethrowers? He moved ten thousand units in less than 48 hours, and beyond the controversy, no one can deny that his campaign was a success. Anything that shoots, ignites, and/or explodes definitely has the attention of the American public (weapons are part of their culture, whether you like it or not)... and that brings us to the portal of Throwflame. In June of last year, this company said it would sell a robot dog equipped with a flamethrower, and keeping that promise, any enthusiast in 48 states (and some countries that allow its import) can purchase the Thermonator:
Thermonator: Who wants a flamethrower robot dog?
What exactly are we looking at? In general terms, the Thermonator is nothing more than the combination of a Unitree Go2 robot (1,600 dollars in its standard configuration) and an ARC flamethrower, also sold by Throwflame. The flamethrower has a maximum range of 30 feet (9.1 meters) and accepts both regular gasoline and napalm (available as an additive, available for about 165 dollars). As for the robot, we find one hour of battery, WiFi and Bluetooth support for control with a smartphone, a LIDAR sensor for obstacle avoidance, and first-person vision with an integrated camera.
The most striking thing (!!) is that Throwflame talks about "control and prevention of forest fires", "agricultural management", "ecological conservation", "ice and snow removal", and "entertainment and special effects" as possible applications. The current price for the Thermonator is 9,420 dollars, with free shipping throughout the United States. The source explains that it is 48 states, because federal agencies do not consider the flamethrower as a "firearm". The only exceptions are Maryland (flamethrowers require a federal license) and California, where the range of the flames cannot exceed 10 feet (3.04 meters).
Official site: Click here Source: Ars Technica
