From this year, wearable robots will be distributed and utilized at large wildfire suppression sites. These robots will enhance the wearer’s physical abilities like the suit featured in the movie ‘Iron Man,’ thereby increasing efficiency in wildfire suppression.
On the 4th, the Korea Forest Service announced that it will distribute and utilize the ‘Wildfire Suppression Wearable Robot (STEP-UP)’ equipped with a Global Positioning System (GPS) in the East Coast region, where the risk of large wildfires is high.
The wildfire suppression robot increases waist and thigh muscle strength by up to 39.7% when worn by a person and reduces muscle fatigue by up to 43.8%, enhancing the ability of wildfire suppression personnel to move on steep slopes and carry equipment.
Additionally, with GPS installed, real-time movement tracking is possible, which is expected by the Korea Forest Service to assist in establishing suppression strategies.
This robot was developed with a research and development budget of 200 million KRW, aiming to prevent safety accidents and strengthen suppression capabilities of wildfire personnel.
In December last year, the Korea Forest Service designated the wildfire suppression robot as an innovative product, and on the 2nd, the Public Procurement Service included it in the pilot purchase target for policy-demand-type innovative products at the Procurement Policy Deliberation Committee.
The pilot purchase project is promoted by the Public Procurement Service acting as the first buyer to directly purchase innovative products that were not available on the market and supply them to the government and public institutions. If the product’s commercial viability is proven, it can then be traded in the actual public procurement market.
This project’s positive function is also recognized in lowering the entry barrier for innovative products into the public procurement market, promoting the purchase of innovative products in the public sector, and providing feedback to companies on usage results to enable further product development.
The wildfire suppression robot is scheduled to be distributed to special wildfire suppression teams in high-risk areas such as the East Coast starting this year.
Nam Seong-hyun, Administrator of the Korea Forest Service, said, “We will deploy the wildfire suppression robot in actual field operations to enhance the efficiency of the wildfire suppression system. The Korea Forest Service will continue to discover tasks that help the field through demand-centered research and development and seek a virtuous cycle structure that also supports companies in pioneering markets.”
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