Now Sheffield Hallam University is developing teams of "canary test" robots designed to reduce on-the-job dangers and search times for fire rescue squads.
Industrial fires, explosions and chemical contamination are dangerous circumstances fire and rescue teams face on a daily basis.
Soon these small explorer robots will be the first team to enter buildings to test for structural soundness, dangerous airborne chemicals and will locate smoke-generating industrial fires.
Jacques Penders, a senior research fellow at Sheffield Hallam, is working in partnership with South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service and four other European organisations, to develop two mini-robots.
Named Guardian and Viewfinder, both robots are just six inches in diameter.
Jacques said: "In fire and rescue there are many hidden dangers, such as structural soundness of buildings, or when thick smoke is masking the rescuers' entrance or escape route.
"The Guardian and Viewfinder robots will assist in the search and rescue by ensuring the communication link and helping the human team to estimate the safety of the path they are taking and the best direction to follow."
The dangers of firefighting were graphically shown at Gillender Street, London, in 1992 when two firefighters died.
The victims became confused in the smoke and lost their exit route. They could not be found in the thick smoke. It is hoped that the Guardian robots could help avoid this type of situation.
The intelligent Guardians work in large teams of 30, communicating independently to each other and the firefighters.
They adjust the distance between themselves and continually measure the strength of radio signals to ensure constant contact.
The swarm then gleans information from each of their routes to detect fires, human danger and obstacles which are then reported back to the firefighters.
The Viewfinder robots use chemical sensors and video cameras to map safe locations for the crew to access in partially-destroyed industrial sites, after events such as explosions. This information will be sent back to a human operator.