Eight years after the unveiling of the first robot from the AirCore family, the history of Magirus' remote-controlled and remote-operated tactical units continues with the handover of the Wolf R1 in Ehrwald.
In an extraordinary ceremony on Germany's highest mountain, the Zugspitze, the company is handing over the world's first tactical response robot to the Ehrwald Volunteer Fire Department in Austria. The Magirus Wolf R1 was especially developed to meet the significantly increased demands of complex and high-risk operations and combines performance and multifunctionality that are second to none.
Innovative fire brigade
Björn Scherer, Chief Fire Inspector of the Ehrwald Volunteer Fire Department, is particularly proud of the latest, sustainable expansion of the brigade’s technology and equipment: "In Ehrwald, we are a small, but very innovative fire brigade. The topography and tourism pose special challenges for us. The range of operations is very diverse, yet all the locations must always be quickly and safely accessible - especially off-road, in tunnels and in underground garages, this is not always easy. We have been searching for a long time for solutions to quickly reach deployment scenes that are difficult to access without putting our firefighters in danger. The Magirus Wolf R1 response robot allows us to do just that."
The range of operations is very diverse, yet all the locations must always be quickly and safely accessible"
With the Magirus Wolf R1, a new era begins not only in Ehrwald. On the part of the District Fire Brigade command and the District Fire Brigade inspectorate, represented by District Fire Brigade Commander Dietmar Berktold and District Fire Brigade Inspector Konrad Müller, a clear commitment was made to innovative, effective, and, above all, protective and supportive equipment for the emergency services.
Diverse firefighting equipment
The tactical response robot allows firefighters to remain outside the danger zone in the event of intense heat, the danger of collapse, hazardous material investigations or poor visibility, while the robot is in action right there with full precision.
Specialized camera systems including thermal imaging enable all-round visibility and robust data transmission ensure that the incident command is always supplied with real-time images and videos, while the all-electric crawler drive with 1,050 Nm of torque allows the Wolf R1 to move purposefully and act flexibly on the most difficult surfaces. The attached subframe developed for Ehrwald enables the most flexible mounting options for diverse firefighting equipment.
Tactical operational robot
The Magirus Wolf R1 was developed together with its partner Alpha Robotics Deutschland GmbH
Thomas Hilse, Magirus CEO, backs this up by saying: "Being able to hand over the first Magirus Wolf R1 on the Zugspitze is truly exceptional. Within special applications, robotic and networked solutions are developing rapidly and offer far-reaching advantages in the field. As a tactical operational robot, the Wolf R1 brings safety and efficiency, but also precision, flexibility, and tremendous performance."
The Magirus Wolf R1 was developed together with its partner Alpha Robotics Deutschland GmbH and has already been extensively tested and used in practice by fire brigades in Lower Saxony. According to Thomas Hilse, the handover is a further step in ‘Next Generation Firefighting,’ which is already available to emergency services and clearly demonstrates Magirus' innovative strength in this field.
Impressive pulling power
The performance of the Wolf R1, particularly useful for high-risk firefighting, reconnaissance, and security tasks; was demonstrated by Christian Reisl, Managing Director of Magirus Lohr, together with the emergency personnel to those present at the Zugspitze Resort site.
The Wolf R1 demonstrated the impressive pulling power of the winch of up to 4 tons
The Wolf R1 demonstrated the impressive pulling power of the winch of up to 4 tons during a simulated fire of a passenger car during a refueling operation. The guests could convince themselves of the all-terrain mobility and the extinguishing performance of the monitor with up to 2,500 l/min at 7 bar and throwing distances of up to 65 meters as well as the intuitive and flexible control from a safe distance during the handling of the damage situation 'solid fuel fire with the danger of spreading to the nearby forest.'
Tactical deployment network
"The deployment possibilities especially in connection with the mobile tactical deployment network Magirus TacticNet with drone support and networking with the respective operation command unfold an unprecedented potential. This opens up a completely new level of safety and maximum transparency for both the forces deployed and the operations command, because the future is now," summarized Christian Reisl.
After the blessing as well as the honors and appointments in the context of the Celebration of St. Florian, the official part was locked with a photo on the terrace of the Zugspitze Restaurant with emperor weather and imposing panorama.
