Ohio company launches Thermonator, a flamethrowing robot dog

CLEVELAND, Ohio (TMX/WOIO) - Throwflame, an Ohio-based flamethrower manufacturer, has released what it says is the first-ever robot dog with a flamethrower attached for remote firestarting.

The Thermonator is a robotic quadruped with the company’s ARC flamethrower mounted on its back. The robot dog features lidar mapping, first-person view (FPV) navigation, obstacle avoidance, and laser sighting to remotely deliver fire, with a 30-foot firing range and a one-hour battery life.

The company says the flamethrowing platform can be used for wildfire management, prescribed agricultural burns, snow and ice removal, or even entertainment special effects.

In a video released by Throwflame, the Thermonator can be seen navigating snowy landscapes, leaf-littered forests and grassy hills, by day and by night.

A voiceover can be heard saying, “I am become death, destroyer of worlds,” as the Thermonator launches an arc of flame. The quote, most famously uttered by nuclear physicist and Manhattan Project leader J. Robert Oppenheimer, comes from the Bhagavad Gita, a piece of Hindu scripture.

The Thermonator can be seen lighting the surrounding forest ablaze, even leaping through the air as it shoots fire.

The robotic flamethrower is available for individual or commercial use, priced at $9,420.

Throwflame says that in the U.S., flamethrowers are largely unregulated, and not considered a firearm by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), though it is up to purchasers to ensure they follow any state and local laws and regulations.

In Maryland, flamethrowers are defined as destructive devices, and are legal to own with a Type 9 Federal Firearms License. For purchasers in California, Throwflame will ship flamethrowers with smaller nozzles in compliance with state regulations, reducing the operational range to less than 10 feet.

TMX contributed to this report.

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