The group said Wednesday that it held a donation ceremony Tuesday at the Capital 119 Special Rescue Unit in Namyangju, south of Seoul. Attendees included Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun; President Sung Kim; Hyundai Rotem President Lee Yong-bae; National Fire Agency acting chief Kim Seung-ryong; and planning and coordination director Lee Jin-ho, the company said.
Hyundai Motor Group officially donated four remote firefighting units, known as unmanned firefighting robots, that it jointly developed with the National Fire Agency. The robots were built by mounting firefighting equipment on Hyundai Rotem’s electrified multipurpose unmanned ground vehicle, the HR-Sherpa, which can be driven remotely.
According to the National Fire Agency’s statistical yearbook, 1,802 firefighters were injured or killed in fires over the past 10 years. Hyundai Motor Group said the robots are designed to reduce injuries in disaster environments by equipping the HR-Sherpa with a water cannon, an onboard spray system, a camera to improve visibility and a remote controller.
The company said the system can lower equipment temperatures to 50 to 60 degrees Celsius even in environments approaching 500 to 800 degrees Celsius, allowing operations closer to the fire scene.
“Firefighters who rush without hesitation into life-and-death scenes to save lives remind us what values our society must protect,” Chung said. He said the group developed the robots with the National Fire Agency to help realize the safety firefighters work to uphold.
Chung called the donated robots “new mobility” that brings together the group’s core technologies to pursue the shared goal of “technology that saves lives.” He said he hopes the robots will be “a reliable team member” deployed first into dangerous sites to help protect firefighters.
Chung also said the group will support firefighters’ recovery by providing vehicles and rehabilitation equipment to the National Fire Hospital, which is scheduled to open in June. “Hyundai Motor Group will continue to provide the technology and support needed so firefighters can carry out their duties in a safer environment,” he said.
Kim, the National Fire Agency’s acting chief, called the event “the first step” in a major shift in disaster response. He said the agency will continue to introduce advanced science and technology to the field through innovative partnerships with the private sector.
Of the four robots, two have already been deployed at the request of the National Fire Agency, with one each assigned to the Capital and Yeongnam 119 special rescue units and put into field operations. The remaining two are to be placed in early next month, with one each going to the Gyeonggi South and South Chungcheong fire headquarters.
Hyundai Motor Group said it supports firefighters in multiple ways. It said it will donate vehicles and rehabilitation equipment for treatment and recovery at the National Fire Hospital in Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province, which it described as the country’s first medical institution specializing in firefighters.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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