Global Safety Magazine has published a wide-ranging interview with ODE Technology's research and development leadership, focusing on the company's push into intelligent rescue robotics and connected equipment.
Asked about design philosophy, the interviewees stressed that robots must serve the incident commander, not the engineering lab. "A robot that takes twenty minutes to boot or requires a specialist operator will sit in the truck," they said. "Everything we design is measured against the chaos of a real scene."
The discussion covered thermal imaging integration, gas sensing, remote manipulation of hydraulic tools, and the trade-offs between battery endurance and payload. ODE's approach reuses the group's electro-hydraulic core technology so that robots and handheld tools share power and control architectures.
On the next decade, the leaders predicted three shifts: AI-assisted scene interpretation, multi-robot coordination with drones, and digital twins for maintenance and training. They also emphasized that ruggedness and after-sales support would remain decisive for fire-service adoption.
The interview concluded with ODE's mission statement - "Safeguarding safety, empowering emergency response" - and an invitation to rescue agencies worldwide to contribute field requirements to the company's product roadmap.