I mean, listen. Here in America, we’re not so much on policing what weapons people keep on their property or even on their person.
That said, I would have thought law enforcement might take issue with facing a robot dog that can throw fire up to 30 feet.
Or you know, firefighters who are already seriously overworked in the American West.
Ohio-based Throwflame announced the Thermonator – “the first-ever flamethrower-wielding robot dog” – is now available for just a hair under $10K.
Thermonator has WiFi and Bluetooth so you can control your apocalypse dog from your smartphone. It also has a one-hour battery, a 30-foot flame-throwing range, and can shoot either gasoline or napalm gel.
A U.S. company has begun taking orders for the world's first flamethrower-wielding robotic dog, known simply as ‘The Thermonator', and it is somehow seemingly completely legal to own under Federal law in most states. https://t.co/GL2WXcUFHa pic.twitter.com/8aiBhO7oC9
— IGN (@IGN) April 28, 2024
The “dog” also comes equipped with a Lidar sensor so you can map and avoid obstacles, laser sighting, and first-person-view navigation.
The base configuration for a quadruped of this type costs about $1600.
In case you’re wondering what on earth people might use this for, aside from generally being a nuisance, the company has some ideas.
They see the Thermonator as being used in “wildfire control and prevention,” “agricultural management,” “ecological conservation,” “snow and ice removal,” and “entertainment and SFX.”
Basically any time you might want to set things on fire.
Although flamethrowers can obviously be used as weapons or easily start wildfires, they are not specifically regulated in 48 states. They are not considered firearms by the federal government.
Only Maryland and California have laws on the books that require people who want to own a flamethrower to go through extra hoops.
Throwflame's Thermonator, a robotic flamethrower. pic.twitter.com/SlVCjrvzme
— Space and Technology (@spacetech94) May 5, 2024
That said, general product liability and criminal laws could still apply to their sale and subsequent use.
I don’t know, y’all.
This might be one of those “you can, but should you?” moments.
At least for me.
If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about the mysterious “pyramids” discovered in Antarctica. What are they?