Tulsa Fire Department Becomes 
Newest Pilot Partner

The Tulsa Fire Department (TFD) is the newest municipal fire department to sign a pilot partnership agreement with Squishy Robotics. Similar to the agreement signed in June with Southern Manatee Fire and Rescue (SMFR), this pilot partnership with TFD will send several Squishy Robotics drone-droppable sensor robots to Oklahoma for testing and use during operations over the next year. TFD firefighters will provide regular feedback and advice during the pilot partnership that will help advance the efficiency and performance of our robots and software.   

Tulsa is Oklahoma's second largest city. The fire department has more than 670 members who are deployed at 30 fire stations throughout the metropolitan area. In June, the department celebrated its 120th anniversary. 

"We will be sending three robots to Tulsa in early October," said Squishy Robotics COO Deniz Dogruer.  "In addition to getting more feedback and assessment on how best to use our sensor robots during fire and HazMat situations, I expect that we will learn a lot from the Oklahoma team on best practices during disaster responses." Dogruer explained that the Tulsa Fire Department drone program commonly assists in the response to natural disasters (such as hurricanes) in Oklahoma and nearby states.

Gabriel Graveline is a TFD firefighter and paramedic; he is also the robotics team leader for the department's unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) program and the lead pilot for the Oklahoma Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue Team. Graveline shared this video of their recent deployment during Hurricane Laura. 

Expect updates from Tulsa as well as Manatee County, Florida as Squishy Robotics works with fire department officers in both municipalities.   

Hutchings Delivers Military-Focused Presentation 

Squishy Robotics Lead Mechatronics Engineer Douglas Hutchings was invited to give a presentation about Squishy Robotics' commercial products and ongoing work adapting our sensor robots for military needs at the xTech 3 Summit, a large defense-focused event that was held September 9 to 11. The xTechSearch program is a new approach and process aimed at transforming the way the U.S. Army interacts with non-defense companies and start-ups to better leverage the innovations made by these companies toward military use. The showcase event included speakers from the Army, Department of Defense (DoD), universities, and industry. Due to COVID-19, this year’s conference was a virtual event.

Squishy Robotics is an xTechSearch alumnus, having been chosen as one of last year’s semi-finalists with the company’s concept of using our rapidly deployable robots for unmanned observation posts during urban military operations.

Squishy Robotics in the News

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