Robobear Charges: The Robot That Teaches You to Stay Alive

Move over Robocop... There's a new sheriff in town! World, meet Robobear (yes, it's real!). The newest addition to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department sounds like a gimmick to go viral, but it's more than that... It's a weirdly effective mix of science, safety, and spectacle.

RELATED: What You Should Never Do If Attacked By A Bear

Robobear is a new tool designed to keep people safe while visiting bear country. It does look a bit funny, kind of like a battle bot (90s kids will get it). Instead of having a bunch of saws and hammers, it just has a statue of a bear on it. Mounted on a wheeled platform, it can maneuver over rough terrain surprisingly well.

Don't let the lackluster design fool you though, this thing moves QUICK. It's designed to prepare hikers and campers for the dangers that come with spring. Bears are starting to wake up from hibernation, they're hungry and looking for food. And if you don't want to become a human quesadilla (or quesaDILLA?) it's probably important to know what to do if you run into a bear.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department built Robobear to teach people what to do if a bear charges at them. They teach you all the steps to defend against a bear attack before making you take a final test. (This one, you should definitely study for.)

Here’s how the Robobear test works:

Robobear starts to move toward you, and you have to stay calm, grab your can of bear spray (which sounds like something from the original Batman movie), and spray it before it gets too close. Timing is everything—spray too early and it’s wasted, too late and… well, good luck.

The main lesson is simple: always be prepared. Keep your bear spray close and practice how to use it.

All in all, Robobear might look a little goofy (or terrifying depending on how you feel about bears). But it comes bearing (pun intended) a valuable lesson... Staying prepared and alert might just save your life on your summer adventures.