The Korea Forest Service (KFS) this year has adopted Step-Up, a wearable robot to boost the capacity for putting out wildfires. (KFS)

By Aisylu Akhmetzianova

Firefighters on the eastern coast will wear a high-tech "suit robot" to help them put out blazes.

The new device will not only prevent accidents on the job but also raise the capacity to respond to forest fires.

The Korea Forest Service (KFS) on April 3 announced its supply of the wearable robot Step-Up with GPS attached for firefighters on the east coast, a region prone to forest fires.

With a research and development cost of KRW 200 million, the device in tests strengthened waist and thigh muscles up to 39.7% and reduced muscle fatigue as high as 43.8%.

Firefighters wearing this exert less strength when climbing up a steep hill and carrying heavy water containers or equipment.

Step-up contains a satellite navigation system that monitors movement in real time, something that helps devise effective firefighting strategies.

"We will set up a smart system of extinguishing forest fires through this fire extinguishing wearable robot," KFS Minister Nam Sung-hyun said. "By conducting consumer-centric R&D, we will seek to build a virtuous cycle of discovering tasks useful on-site and helping open corporate markets."

aisylu@korea.kr