WASHINGTON – The United States Navy is developing a robot to fight fires on ships.
The robot’s name is Autonomous Shipboard Humanoid, or ASH. A version of Virginia Tech professor Dennis Hong’s CHARLi-1 robot, the Navy hopes ASH will be able to move in any direction, navigate narrow passages and climb ladders, and keep its balance at sea, reports The Washington Post.
The Navy also wants ASH to have sensors and cameras to see through smoke, and will be able to respond to hand signals and gestures. It would also be able to throw propelled extinguishing agent technology grenades, and use fire extinguishers and hoses.
ASH may not be an exact replica of C-3PO from ‘Star Wars’, but it’ll do.
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