American company Throw Flame recently unveiled its latest product, Thermonator, the world’s first flamethrower-wielding robot dog.

Robot dogs have been around for a while now, and in countries like China, they’re actually competing against actual pooches. But it turns out that these four-legged robots can be more than lifeless pets. For example, Throw Flame, a US-based company specializing in flamethrowers, recently showcased the world’s first flamethrower-equipped robot dog. Dubbed “Thermonator”, it comes with a high-performance flamethrower mounted on its back which allows it to shoot flames up to 9 meters in front of it. According to the Throw Flame website, the Thermonator allows users to remotely “shoot flames anywhere you want!”

At first glance, it looks like the Thermonator is based on the Chinese-made Unitree Go1 robot dog, with the addition of a flamethrower. The Go1 is a relatively advanced robotic unit featuring an array of built-in sensors and cameras, but it’s also a more affordable option, at least compared to other robot dogs, like Boston Dynamic’s ‘Spot’.

So why would anyone ever need a flamethrowing robot dog? Well, using it as a weapon comes to mind, but the company insists that the Thermonator is actually designed as a tool, for pest control or snow and ice removal, and for safely throwing flames for movie scenes. But imagine something like this in the hands of someone with bad intentions…

 

The Unitree Go1 is priced at around $3,500 online, but Throw Flame has yet to announce a price for its flamethrowing version. For now, the company is taking pre-orders and aiming for Q3 2023 release window.