Of Old ships and New robots
A World War Two amphibious assault ship is now testing the next generation of robot firefighters
Meet Charlie, a super advanced droid developed by Virginia Tech to fight fires.
VA Techs Firefighter of the future
These clockwork devices are devoid of doubt, fear, or second-thinking and better yet, dont have to breath oxygen which makes them great to send into burning compartments on navy warships to fight fires. Better yet, they can be stationed on standby quietly in dead spaces quietly waiting for fires or damage control efforts to call them into action remotely. With fewer and fewer sailors on warships, they will be needed. For instance the LCS, arguably what would have been a cruiser-sized warship back in the World War Two era, only has a crew of 50 instead of 500. A few robots may help with that.
Charlie will be tested on the ex-USS Shadwell (LSD-15). The 7,300-ton 457-foot gator is the last member of the 19-ship Casa-Grande Class dock landing ships. Commissioned in 1944, she was hit by a torpedo and downs a kamikaze in WWII. After more than 25-years faithful service around the world she was on 9 March 1970, placed out of commission, and mothballed. In 1976 her name was stricken from the Navy List and she was a warship no more.
The Shadwell in better days
On 10 November 1988, the old girl, now known as the ex-USS Shadwell, was transferred to the Fire Research Detachment, Little Sands Island, Mobile Bay, Alabama. There she serves as a test and training platform in the development of fire models and other damage and control systems. Her and Charlie will meet in 2013.