Billions Invested in Firefighting Robots, Yet Agencies 'Buy and Use' Instead

Despite over a decade of investment exceeding 100 billion won in firefighting robot technology development, fire departments continue to purchase and deploy commercially available private sector products for field use. The government has promoted the 'National Safety Robot Project' for six years since 2016, investing approximately 70 billion won and achieving outcomes such as the development of various robot sensor technologies for detecting people and scouting hazardous areas, along with securing over 10 patents. However, the research outcomes failed to be applied to actual firefighting scenarios. Even when some technologies were transferred to private companies, there was a lack of mechanisms to commercialize them into actual firefighting equipment or facilitate their adoption in the field.

Following the tragic Pyeongtaek cold storage fire in 2022, the National Fire Agency announced plans to develop specialized equipment, including robots capable of detecting flammable gases. Although a total of 30 billion won is slated for this initiative, its success in leading to actual technology commercialization remains uncertain. Critics point to the insufficient support and linkage mechanisms for connecting research achievements to the adoption of actual equipment. An official involved in the R&D project stated that even when developing with commercialization in mind, it is realistically difficult due to the need for verification of actual development, legal reviews, and pilot purchases.

While budgets have been repeatedly allocated solely for technology development over the past decade, 31 firefighters have lost their lives performing duties at fire scenes. Only after two firefighters were further killed in the Wando cold storage fire this year did the National Fire Agency announce its plan to sequentially deploy 100 unmanned robots for hazardous sites. Separate from past R&D efforts, they have hastily adopted a strategy of purchasing private companies' existing technologies at 2.4 billion won per unit. This measure is based on precedents where products developed by private firms were introduced through pilot operations or purchased by some provincial fire services.

The reality that, despite efforts toward commercialization-focused technology development, the protection of firefighters has ultimately failed underscores the need for a comprehensive review of national-level robot R&D projects that have been pursued under the guise of advancing disaster response capabilities.