Howe & Howe Technologies - Experts & Thought Leaders

Following a train derailment on the Arizona – New Mexico state line on April 26, officials closed eastbound and westbound lanes of Interstate 40 for a prolonged period of time, as hazardous smoke plumes made driving conditions unsafe and extremely difficult. Firefighters on site watched over a controlled burn of fuel, which consumed most of the train cars. On Sunday, firefighters removed debris from the area to allow for early repair of the tracks. Thankfully, no one was hurt during this incident. The cause of the derailment is still under investigation at the time that this article was written. Thermite family of products Thermite family of products was designed to mitigate these life-threatening situations Thermite® firefighting robot was made to suppress fires of this scale while ensuring the safety of first responders. The Thermite family of products was designed to mitigate these life-threatening situations and provide fire suppression, situational awareness, and intelligence-gathering capabilities to first responders. To help understand how this tool could be used to help mitigate injuries to all of those involved in fires of this scale, they compiled a list of some of the most common Thermite use cases below: Surveillance All the firefighting robots are standardly equipped with front and back-facing cameras to help firefighters survey an area without entering a structure. This gives the boots on the ground clear data that can be used to determine whether it is safe to enter a structure, preventing costly injuries that occur on a regular basis.  In this case, a robot could have been used to determine where these cars were burning at its strongest point and it could safely douse those points with a heavy flow of water, speeding up the fire suppression process. Load Carrying/Pushing Thermite robots have the capability to tow and push up to 8,000 pounds of weight Thermite robots have the capability to tow and push up to 8,000 pounds of weight. Pushing capacity like this could’ve allowed firefighters safe entry into those compromised zones at a much more efficient pace than traditional firefighting methods could provide. Defensive Posturing The robots can run for hours on end, throwing water on a fire without agitating it. This allows firefighters out in the field to attack other jobs, pioneering to a higher degree of success without injury. This also could have aided firefighters in getting to other important tasks at the Holbrook Derailment while the robot could lead the defensive firefight. The work that was done to put out this fire was exceptionally handled from a traditional firefighting perspective. A tool like the Thermite could quickly assist with intense firefighting operations while keeping those on the front lines safe.

Howe & Howe, Inc., a subsidiary of Textron Systems Corporation, a Textron Inc. company, has announced that the company will introduce its Thermite® EV1 firefighting robot at this year’s FDIC International event. The company will be located in booth 5162 at the prestigious fire service event, FDIC International 2023, which is scheduled to take place from April 24 to April 29, 2023, in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. Thermite® EV1 firefighting robot The latest evolution in Howe & Howe’s trusted family of electric firefighting robots - the Thermite EV1 safely and effectively targets fires with a modular design that can accommodate its multi-position, 700 gallon-per-minute nozzle and additional available attachments. Powered with the latest in high-capacity battery technology, the Thermite EV1 can move farther into high-temperature, oxygen-deprived environments, unlike equipment with traditional, fuel-consuming engines that have oxygen requirements for the drivetrain. This will be the fourth vehicle in the Thermite family, the only firefighting robots built, made, and sold right here in the United States of America (USA). Real-time situational awareness in high-risk Zones Our EV1 is a powerful force multiplier for our heroes in fire response" “Our EV1 is a powerful force multiplier for our heroes in fire response,” said Senior Vice President and Company Co-Founder, Mike Howe, adding “We built our Thermite firefighting robots to extend our first responders’ sight, reach and other senses, delivering them real-time situational awareness in high-risk zones of operation. These vehicles will redefine how we protect and support our emergency responders.” With a lighter weight and smaller footprint than other robots in the Thermite family, the EV1 provides firefighters a standoff range of more than 300 meters and a run time of up to 20 hours. Its industrial-grade, belted rubber tracks are designed to traverse the toughest terrains. Thermite EV2 firefighting robot at FDIC International 2023 Also, on display at the FDIC International 2023 event is the Thermite EV2 firefighting robot, which will be showcased as part of the show’s ‘Fire Rescue Station of the Future’ exhibit. The immersive experience is billed by show organizers as an ‘architect-designed, full-scale fire station replica’. Howe & Howe’s EV2 offers a larger footprint and incorporates day/night and thermal sensors.

Howe & Howe is collaborating with Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) to add new and emerging technologies to the training services TEEX offers. Since 1929, TEEX has offered on-site and online training resources for more than 200,000 people per year in areas such as fire and rescue, infrastructure and safety, law enforcement, economic and workforce development, and homeland security. state-of-the-art firefighting robot Howe & Howe are loaning TEEX a Thermite® RS1, which will allow first responders who come through their doors to train with a state-of-the-art firefighting robot that will provide valuable standoff distance to the firefighter and keep them safe. During its initial visit to TEEX, Howe and Howe's team demonstrated the many capabilities of the Thermite® RS1 and showed the TEEX team how first responders would utilize the firefighting robot in response to various emergencies.

Firefighting robots have been deployed by a couple of departments in the United States, but the full potential of the technology is just now being realized. “As departments get more exposure to the technology, and learn more about the capabilities, they are more open to using them,” says Paul Ford, Robotics Program Manager, Howe & Howe Technologies. “They are realizing why and how they are being used, and they understand the full capabilities of the technology, not just to spray water, but to clean debris or gain access through a wall.” Firefighting robots Firefighting robots can be used to assist firefighters in doing their jobs while protecting them from exposure to extreme conditions. Robots are especially useful in industrial and large commercial situations, where a fire can get out of control quickly. A robot can be deployed to spray large amounts of water onto a fire – four times as much as a single firefighter. It can therefore free up firefighters for other needs. For example, instead of needing 40 firefighters in a situation, a robot might take the place of 10 of them. Supporting the firefighters The robot’s movements are controlled by firefighters as they are just another tool to help them do their jobs It is important to note that firefighting robots are not being deployed to replace firefighters, but only to assist them. It’s a critical distinction given the traditional nature of the firefighting community. “We are great robot builders, but we are not firefighters,” says Ford. “We’re building a product that supports them better.” The robot’s movements are controlled by firefighters; in the end, they are just another tool to help them do their jobs, like an axe. In addition to assisting firefighters, robots can be used to determine the extent of a dangerous situation without putting a firefighter in harm’s way, such as in case of explosives or a possible roof collapse. Need of robots in small fire depts. One misconception is that firefighting robots are only needed by larger fire departments. Not true, says Ford. “Sometimes a smaller department needs it because they are a small department,” he says. “They can bring in a unit to maintain a water curtain between a building on fire and the next building, enabling firefighters to focus on other areas. It’s like bringing extra people to a fire.” Applications of firefighting robots In addition to spraying water, firefighting robots can be equipped with any number of tools, including thermal cameras and other sensors. Currently, video captured by a robot is provided only to the operator, but soon the robot will be able to share information with a command center to aid decision-making at a fire scene. A robot can help determine conditions using gas detectors and explosivity (LEL) meters. Flexible design Howe and Howe displayed a mobile, remotely operated robotic ballistic shield engineered for first responders The flexibility of design enables robots to be used in a variety of situations. For example, Howe and Howe are currently working with wildland firefighters to develop a robot version for that application, adapting to different needs and limitations. At FDIC, they displayed a mobile, remotely operated robotic ballistic shield engineered for first responders (SWAT-BOT). Robot deployment Currently, Howe and Howe have deployed three robots for firefighting in the United States. One is in Los Angeles, which is the longest user of the technology; another is in Fort Worth, Texas; and a third is at the Los Alamos National Lab, a U.S. government facility in New Mexico. In the Los Angeles Department, the robot is delivered to a fire scene on a car trailer connected to the chief’s truck. It is used if the incident commander calls for it, or in the second alarm of a large fire. The robot has been deployed to 30 fires so far in the year and a half it has been operating. The transition from diesel to electric robots Current robots are powered by diesel engines, but Howe and Howe are on the verge of introducing an electric version, which is currently in the final testing stages. Thermite EV2 all-electric firefighting robot At the FDIC International show in Indianapolis in April 2022, Howe & Howe (now part of Textron) displayed the Thermite EV2 all-electric firefighting robot, operated by a software-driven controller. It is powered by a battery pack instead of a combustible engine. It does not require oxygen for power and can extend into more high-temperature, dangerous environments. Howe & Howe have been testing the new electric robot, which can go further inside a building, where the oxygen is being consumed by the fire, and therefore a combustion engine cannot operate. The electric robot can also climb stairs faster because it does not have to remain 30 seconds on each landing to ensure there is sufficient oil in the oil pan to prevent internal engine damage. Other EV and diesel-powered robots Thermite RS1 and RS3 are diesel-powered robot bases that can be easily maneuvered through tight areas The final product of the EV2 Thermite is being tested one last time by the Los Angeles department before it is released for sale in the fourth quarter of 2022. The Thermite RS1 and RS3 are diesel-powered robot bases that can be easily maneuvered through tight areas and are controlled by remote belly-pack controllers. The RS3 is larger, provides more flow, and has more power. Military applications Technology for Howe & Howe firefighting robots “trickles down” from their work creating robots for military applications.  Therefore, the equipment designs have already been rigorously tested and can withstand abuse and daily use. A difference is that military robots are often designed to work and move autonomously, while every move of a firefighting robot is controlled by a human.

Technology has played a role in firefighting since the beginning; in fact, portable water pumps were found among the ruins of ancient Egypt. As bucket brigades gave way to electric pumps and internal combustion motors displaced horse-drawn fire engines, firefighting has benefited in terms of greater efficiency and lives saved at each point along the way. Technologies boosting the efforts of firefighters include drones, robots and other high-tech innovations. We asked our Expert Panel Roundtable: Which technologies will we see in ‘the future of firefighting'?

The Thermite RS3, manufactured by Howe & Howe Technologies, is a wide-chassis, industrial firefighting robot that is remotely operated using a belly-pack controller to provide high-definition video feedback for easy maneuverability, even in difficult conditions. The Los Angeles City Fire Department was the first to buy the bright yellow firefighting vehicle, as announced last fall. Thermite RS3 robot Decon7 Systems has teamed with Howe & Howe Technologies to pioneer the delivery of D7 disinfecting formula The robot is also being used in a new way during the COVID-19 pandemic. Decon7 Systems has teamed with Howe & Howe Technologies to pioneer the delivery of D7 disinfecting formula, using the RS3 to spray the disinfectant as foam, in order to ensure large areas are free of the coronavirus (COVID-19). The configuration is another way that a variety of items are being repurposed for new uses in the time of the pandemic, ranging from scarves used as face masks to kitchen tables that double as desks in a virtual schoolroom. In this case, a robot, which costs upwards of US$ 300,000, is providing a new way to carry out large-scale disinfecting operations of public places. Combination of D7 disinfectant and Thermite RS3 As COVID-19 pandemic restrictions ease and more public events are contemplated, the combination of D7 and the Thermite RS3 to disinfect and clean large areas will be relevant to communities and facilities across the country. “The combination of Thermite RS3 technology and D7 foam opens the door to new methods of quickly and safely deactivating the COVID-19 virus in public spaces,” said Decon7 Systems’ Senior Vice President, William Joe Hill. Thermite and D7 provided a demonstration of the new capabilities. “We hope to show the significance of this capability to facility maintenance operators and first responders, including firefighters, law enforcement and emergency services teams, all across the country,” adds William Joe Hill. Positive pressure ventilation (PPV) ventilator The RS3’s modular design and wider stance allow additional equipment to be incorporated, including positive pressure ventilation (PPV) ventilator. In the disinfectant use case, two nozzles spray the disinfectant from the robot. One is controllable and can spray a sidewalk as the robot travels down the road, for example. The second nozzle feeds into the airstream of a PPV ventilator fan system, where it is jetted at 20 gallons per minute to get the right foaming action of the solution. A tow-behind trailer includes a pump to provide pressure without connecting to an outside water source. Large-scale disinfection operations When used in firefighting, the Thermite RS3 avoids having to deploy firefighters into extreme conditions When used in firefighting, the Thermite RS3 avoids having to deploy firefighters into extreme conditions. The RS3 enables firefighters to respond at a safer distance from danger, while using the robot as an extension of their own senses. The same advantages also drive new usage arenas such as COVID-19 disinfection, toxic chemical remediation, and biohazard disinfection. Large-scale disinfecting operations can be achieved without putting personnel in harm’s way. The RS3’s hose attachment enables users to spray large areas with disinfectant efficiently. D7 broad-spectrum antimicrobial disinfectant D7 is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial disinfectant that is versatile for a host of applications. It capitalizes on the power of hydrogen peroxide, penetrating and disarming toxins at the molecular level. The D7 formulation is made up of mild ingredients, which gives it low toxicity and corrosion properties. Fabricated using industrial-grade steel and reinforced rubber tracks, RS3 can navigate rugged terrain and withstand exposure to the extreme elements. Its 36.8 hp diesel engine can run 20 hours without refueling. The control device, strapped around the waist of the operator, has a range of a quarter mile away.