Japanese researchers made a flying snake robot that fights fires
What will they think of next?

Each week, we spotlight a cool innovation recommended by some of the industry's top tech writers. This week's pick is a fire-fighting robot.
"Fires have an unfortunate habit of happening in places that aren't necessarily easy to reach," putting firefighters in lethal danger, said Evan Ackerman at IEEE Spectrum. That's led Japanese researchers to design a "snake-like robot" with the body of a fire hose. "Like other snake robots, this one has the potential to be able to wiggle its way into windows or other gaps in a structure, with the benefit of carrying and directing water as it goes." But what sets this design apart is "how it powers itself."
See it in action:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The snake can shoot "high-pressure jets of water downward like rocket engines," lifting the robot up off the ground and allowing it to fly. "While the head nozzle is fighting the source of the fire," the body keeps itself airborne, drenching everything that it's passing over. Researchers are now working on the robot's control algorithms to make the hose "more stable and more controllable."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
What should you be stockpiling for 'World War Three'?
In the Spotlight Britons advised to prepare after the EU tells its citizens to have an emergency kit just in case
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Carnivore diet: why people are eating only meat
The Explainer 'Meatfluencers' are taking social media by storm but experts warn meat-only diets have health consequences
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human blood
Under the radar Drugging the bugs
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published