Media & Press Updates
FireBot has been featured all over the news!

17-year-old invents robot ‘twice as powerful as a firefighter’
November 2nd, 2021
After hearing about a local firefighter’s death, 17-year-old Siddharth Thakur, a University of Texas engineering student, invented what he hopes to be a solution. It’s called the Firebot: a fire-resistant, radio-controlled intelligence-gathering robot.

Teen Inventor Honored for His "FireBot"
October 22nd, 2021
Search and rescue robot helps firefighters navigate burning buildings remotely

This First-Year Student Invented a Fire-Fighting Robot
October 8th, 2021
Every once in a while, a young person already so accomplished comes along and makes you wonder aloud “what am I doing with my life?” Siddharth Thakur is one of those young people.

UT-Austin freshman creates firefighter-helper robot
September 21st, 2021
The idea for FireBot, a 20-pound heat-insulated steel robot, came to Siddharth Thakur four years ago after he heard about the death of a local firefighter.

FireBot Finalist in Collegiate Inventors Competition
Oct 14th, 2021
5 Student Teams’ Innovations Win 2021 Collegiate Inventors Competition

FireBot supported by Arrow Electronics
November 1st, 2021
UT Austin freshman Siddharth Thakur captured the People’s Choice Award (and a $2,000 prize) for developing a remote-controlled search-and-rescue robot. The Firebot is a wirelessly managed, thermally insulated, obstacle-climbing robot that can locate people trapped in burning buildings.

FireBot wins the Idea Competition Fall 2021!
December 1st, 2021
This fall, the Blackstone LaunchPad Network partnered with StartupTree to run their first network-wide Ideas Competition offering students a chance to win money for their early-stage business idea. Siddharth Thakur is a first-year Electrical and Computer Engineering student at UT Austin.

FireBot Selected as Arrow Electronics Winner
November 1st, 2021
A first-year engineering student from the University of Texas at Austin won the Arrow Electronics People’s Choice Award at the 2021 Collegiate Inventors Competition.

2022 Research Showdown Winners Announced
March 8th, 2022
On March 8, the Office of Undergraduate Research announced the winners of the seventh annual Texas Student Research Showdown at an award ceremony. FireBot won the 1st Place STEM Category Award.
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HCC Beat - Firebot
October 2, 2021
The Advanced Manufacturing Center has created countless opportunities for innovation. In our first HCC Beat, Randall Williams gets technical with a new invention that got its start on the Stafford campus.

FireBot wins People Choice Award
November 1st, 2021
The Firebot is a wirelessly managed, thermally insulated, obstacle-climbing robot that can locate people trapped in burning buildings.

Arrow Electronics Cultivates New Generation
November 1st, 2021
A first-year engineering student from the University of Texas at Austin won the Arrow Electronics People’s Choice Award at the 2021 Collegiate Inventors Competition.