Firefighting is tough work. In case you hadn’t noticed, fire is dangerous and it tends to spread like, well, fire. The men and women among us who choose to combat these lethal scenarios, thus saving our lives, can only be called heroes. Still, even with that said, the technology firefighters bring with them into the field is anything but high-tech. As a matter of fact, the essentials of these items haven’t changed in around fifty years or so. It’s high time the wearable technology industry got up and started saving their lives the way they’ve saved so many of ours(and our cats.)
So with that said, a group of researchers at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia have come up with a brand new exoskeleton that not only will keep firefighters safer than ever before, it’ll even bequeath them with a host of new powers that will make their job easier. The exoskeleton is designed, fire and foremost, to cut down on the weight of the gear that firefighters must lug around while on the job. Typically, this gear can run up to 125 pounds or more. That slows them down, thus slowing down rescues. The exoskeleton goes over their suit, carrying all of that extra weight with ease. It also speeds them up and lets them carry more planks and other odds and ends. The exoskeleton even falls apart at the push of a button if they need to escape somewhere on the fly. So yeah, pretty cool.
Of course, these exoskeletons are still in the prototyping phase so it will be awhile before our boys in yellow get a chance to try one on for themselves. In the meantime, try not to fall asleep while smoking any cigarettes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBoivgY5RVE
