The U.S. Navy is experimenting with a robot designed to help fight fires on ships, but it's not nearly fast enough to be effective yet.

The Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting Robot, or SAFFiR, developed by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) can walk across uneven floors, use thermal imaging to identify overheated equipment, and even wield a hose to extinguish a small fire. It's part of a larger effort by the military to consider the role of robots in future combat.

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Developed by researchers at Virginia Tech, the two-legged, or bipedal, humanoid robot is also helping the Navy better evaluate what role such devices may play in everything from damage control to inspections aboard ships.

SAFFiR stands 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 143 pounds. It has a super-human range of motion to maneuver in complex spaces.

A variety of highly sensitive sensors allow the robot to track down a fire source, while infrared stereovision allows it to see through thick smoke.

"We can identify the fire and locate its extent. We can measure the temperature field with thermal imaging and extract [a sense of where] flame is from that. We can also sense flames that are outside the visual field by reflections," explained Navy scientist Tom McKenna.

Scientists are planning to enhance the robot's intelligence, communications capabilities, speed, computing power and battery life for extended applications.

Brian Lattimer, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech, said they're now trying to make humans and robot work together.

TagsFirefighting Robot, fire, Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting Robot, SAFFiR, Virginia Tech