California start up Satyress reveals Threehalves, a seven foot robot designed for wildfires

The design is deliberately intimidating, with a centaur style body, a horned head, no hands and glowing eyes, and images of it have spread across the internet. A company representative told The Debrief that it is obviously quite over the top, but ultimately this is at the extreme end of humanoid robotics in size and capability.

Satyress says it has no plans to develop much autonomy beyond what is needed to stop the robot damaging itself, arguing that forestry is among the deadliest occupations in the United States and that saving lives is enough to justify the cost without autonomous productivity gains. Safety features include a remote means of locking the brakes.

The company says the project is not a prank and that the robot is still some way from showing elegant motion, which is why most of the public material is static renders and photographs.

“Our thought is someone who didn't know what it is should definitely stay away from it, and those that do know or are operating the machine should be reminded it's quite dangerous.”