Featured in May at this year's edition of Segurex (the International Exhibition of Protection, Security and Defense), the Eco Camões is the latest product from Jacinto, a Portuguese company dedicated to the construction of VFCI (Forest Fire Fighting Vehicles), consisting of a pioneering model in the world.
Developed by Jacinto with the help of the Polytechnic Institute of Leira (in the software area) and the Automobile Technology Laboratory, the Eco Camões is the first fire-fighting vehicle in the world that is fully electric and unmanned.
Weighing 29 tons, six driving wheels and five electric motors with 145 kW (197 hp) each, where four motors are used to move the vehicle and the fifth to run the pump, Eco Camões has batteries with a capacity of 275 kW which offer you 300 km of autonomy and allow the water pump to work for four hours.
ready for any situation
With a capacity of 10,000 l of water, 1200 l of foam and 250 kg of chemical powder, Eco Camões is, according to Jacinto, the ideal vehicle to operate in rarefied atmospheres (such as fires in tunnels) once that because it can be controlled from a distance, avoiding putting the firefighters at risk.
Subscribe to our newsletter
According to Jacinto, it is possible to control the Eco Camões from a distance of up to 1 km, and, using a control panel, the operator is not only able to view the entire environment around the truck, but also controls the entire extinguishing system (pump , foam system, etc.) how you can control the acceleration, braking and steering of the Eco Camões.
Speaking to Security Magazine, Jacinto Oliveira, the company's general director, explained that the Eco Camões is not an autonomous car “as it does not extinguish the fire by itself, it needs someone to control it”, adding, “if we are in a scenario of high risk, firefighters can get out of the car and command it (…) with a remote panel”.