SMOOTH · Project

Autonomous Firefighting Robots That Search and Rescue Where Humans Cannot

digitalPrototypeTRL 4Thin data (2/5)

Imagine sending a team of spider-like robots into a burning building before any firefighter steps inside. That's what SMOOTH built — a six-legged walking robot with 3D vision that can navigate rubble, squeeze through tight spaces, and relay real-time data back to the fire crew outside. They also developed tiny jumping robots and capsule-sized bots that can slip through narrow openings. The idea is to give fire commanders a live picture of what's happening inside, so they can make faster, safer decisions about where to send their people.

By the numbers

1.2 million

fires responded to by US fire departments in 2013

3,420

civilian fatalities from fires in the US (2013)

15,925

fire-related injuries in the US (2013)

$12.4 billion

property losses from fires in the US (2013)

192,600

fire responses in the UK

350

civilian fatalities from fires in the UK

10,300

fire-related injuries in the UK

legs on the Octopus robot prototype

consortium partners across 5 countries

The business problem

What needed solving

Firefighters routinely enter burning buildings with limited visibility and no reliable information about structural conditions, victim locations, or hazard sources inside. In the US alone, fires cause over 3,420 deaths, 15,925 injuries, and $12.4 billion in property damage annually. Current firefighting equipment lacks the dexterity and autonomy needed to scout dangerous environments before human crews commit to entry.

The solution

What was built

The project built a semi-autonomous Octopus firefighting robot demonstrator with 6 legs and 3D vision, designed for navigating rubble and obstacles in fire environments. They also developed a portable octopus robot prototype, jumping robots for obstacle avoidance, and capsule-sized robots for maneuvering through narrow openings, all equipped with wireless sensors for real-time communication.

Audience

Who needs this

Municipal and national fire departments looking to reduce firefighter casualties during interior operationsPetrochemical and chemical plant operators needing autonomous inspection during fire or toxic leak emergenciesMining companies requiring search-and-rescue capability in underground collapse scenariosMilitary and defense contractors developing unmanned ground systems for hazardous reconnaissanceNuclear facility operators needing robots for inspection in radiation or fire contamination zones

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Fire and Rescue Services

enterprise

Target: Municipal fire departments and national fire agencies

If you are a fire department dealing with rising casualties and property losses — in the US alone, fires caused 3,420 fatalities, 15,925 injuries, and $12.4 billion in property damage in a single year. SMOOTH developed a semi-autonomous six-legged robot demonstrator with 3D vision that can enter hazardous environments for search and reconnaissance before human crews go in. This gives incident commanders real-time situational awareness, reducing blind entries.

Industrial Safety and Petrochemicals

enterprise

Target: Oil refineries, chemical plants, and large manufacturing facilities with explosion risk

If you run a petrochemical facility where fires and toxic leaks make human inspection deadly — SMOOTH built autonomous walking robots equipped with environmental sensors and wireless communication. These robots can navigate debris and obstacles in harsh industrial environments to assess damage and locate survivors or hazard sources. The six-legged design handles uneven terrain that wheeled robots cannot.

Mining and Underground Infrastructure

mid-size

Target: Mining companies and tunnel operators dealing with underground fire and collapse risks

If you manage underground operations where fires or collapses trap workers in spaces too dangerous for rescue teams — SMOOTH developed capsule-sized robots that can maneuver through narrow openings and jumping robots for obstacle avoidance. Combined with wearable sensors on workers' suits, the system enables real-time positioning and communication in confined underground environments where GPS does not work.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to deploy these robots in our operations?

The SMOOTH project operated on a €513,000 EU contribution under a research staff exchange program (MSCA-RISE), focused on developing prototypes rather than commercial products. No commercial pricing has been established. Any deployment would require significant further development and industrialization investment beyond what this project covered.

Can these robots operate at industrial scale in real fire conditions?

The project produced a semi-autonomous demonstrator — a six-legged Octopus robot with 3D vision. This is a working prototype, not a production-ready system. Real-world deployment in actual fire conditions would require extensive hardening for heat resistance, smoke, water exposure, and extended battery life that goes beyond what was demonstrated.

Who owns the intellectual property, and can we license it?

The consortium includes 8 partners across 5 countries (UK, China, Spain, France, Romania), with Bournemouth University as coordinator. IP from MSCA-RISE projects typically stays with the institutions that generated it. Licensing discussions would need to involve the specific partner that developed the component you're interested in — the walking robot originated at SJTU (Shanghai), while the jumping robots came from Bournemouth University.

How does this compare to existing firefighting robot solutions on the market?

Most commercial firefighting robots today are wheeled or tracked vehicles designed for outdoor use. SMOOTH's six-legged walking design specifically targets indoor environments with rubble, stairs, and obstacles where wheels fail. The addition of jumping micro-robots and capsule systems for narrow openings addresses gaps that current commercial solutions do not cover. Based on available project data, no direct commercial benchmarking was published.

What sensors are included and can they integrate with our existing command systems?

The project developed wearable and environmental sensors for real-time machine-to-machine communication, plus a 3D human-robot interaction infrastructure for decision support. Based on available project data, specific sensor specifications and integration protocols with existing fire command systems were not detailed in the public deliverables. Custom integration work would likely be needed.

What is the timeline to get from this prototype to something we could actually use?

The project ended in February 2021 with a demonstrator-level prototype. Moving from demonstrator to a field-deployable system typically requires 3-5 years of additional engineering for ruggedization, certification, and manufacturing scale-up. No follow-up commercialization project has been publicly announced as of the available data.

Consortium

Who built it

The SMOOTH consortium brings together 8 partners from 5 countries (UK, China, Spain, France, Romania), with a balanced mix of 4 universities, 3 industry partners (all SMEs), and 1 research organization. The 38% industry ratio is decent for a research exchange program, and the inclusion of 3 SMEs suggests some commercial awareness. However, this was fundamentally an MSCA-RISE project — a staff mobility scheme with a modest €513,000 budget — meaning the primary goal was knowledge exchange between institutions rather than product development. The China-Europe axis (SJTU developed the Octopus robot, Bournemouth led the jumping robots) combines complementary robotics expertise. For a business looking to engage, the key question is whether any partner has continued development since the project ended in 2021.

BOURNEMOUTH UNIVERSITYCoordinator · UK
ROBOTNIK AUTOMATION SLparticipant · ES
SHANGHAI JIAO TONG UNIVERSITYpartner · CN
INSTITUTE OF AUTOMATION CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCESpartner · CN
CEDRAT TECHNOLOGIES SASparticipant · FR

How to reach the team

Bournemouth University (UK) coordinated this project. SciTransfer can help identify the right contact person and facilitate an introduction.

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Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

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