Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - Israeli Made Guardium UGV (1)

Guardium, developed by G-NIUS, is an Israeli

unmanned ground vehicle An unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) is a vehicle that operates while in contact with the ground and without an onboard human presence. UGVs can be used for many applications where it may be inconvenient, dangerous, or impossible to have a human op ...

(UGV) used to combat and guard against invaders along Gaza's border. It was jointly developed by

Israel Aerospace Industries Israel Aerospace Industries (Hebrew: התעשייה האווירית לישראל ''ha-ta'asiya ha-avirit le-yisra'el'') or IAI (תע"א) is Israel's major aerospace and aviation manufacturer, producing aerial and astronautic systems for both mi ...

and Elbit Industries. It can be used in either tele-operated or autonomous mode. Both modes do not require human interaction. The more unmanned ground vehicles patrolling the area the less human resources needed while guaranteeing

deterrence Deterrence may refer to: * Deterrence theory, a theory of war, especially regarding nuclear weapons * Deterrence (penology), a theory of justice * Deterrence (psychology) Deterrence in relation to criminal offending is the idea or theory that t ...

. The joint program was terminated in April 2016, but the vehicle has remained in service with the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

Features

Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - Israeli Made Guardium UGV (3)

Guardium is equipped with sufficient armor to protect itself in light fire attacks and against multiple enemies. The vehicle is 2.95 meters long, 1.8 meters wide and 2.2 meters high. It is considered to be a medium-sized combat vehicle, about the size of a

Jeep J8 The Jeep J8 is a military vehicle originally based on the Jeep Wrangler JK platform, but currently based on the Jeep Wrangler JL platform. It is also used by government agencies, security groups, peacekeepers, fire departments, underground min ...

; it weighs 1.4 tons and can go up to 80 km/h for up to several days depending on the amount of usage. The vehicle is equipped with:

infrared cameras Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...

, radars, high-sensitivity microphones, visible sensors, and hostile fire indicators. The equipment was built for unpredicted attacks, but its main purpose is

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as c ...

. The vehicles contain both lethal and

non-lethal weapon Non-lethal weapons, also called nonlethal weapons, less-lethal weapons, less-than-lethal weapons, non-deadly weapons, compliance weapons, or pain-inducing weapons are weapons intended to be less likely to kill a living target than conventional ...

s for protection. It is simple to operate, with stationary, mobile, and portable operational versions. It can be remotely controlled by the mobile command station, where the computers have built in maps. It can also be pre-programmed to drive itself along assigned routes. Powerful sensors can detect unpredicted obstacles and an infrared camera can spot invaders in the dark. When it goes off road, this equipment enables operation in any terrain and weather.

Autonomous Mode

Autonomous robots work with their surroundings and make decisions based on it. The vehicle or robot can work for extended periods of time without human interaction. In this mode it can be set to a certain location or can be put on a ground path and it will cover its designated area until needed or for up to 103 consecutive hours. This mode can sense abnormal circumstances and avoid them.

Tele-Operated Mode

The tele-operated mode lets the operating team know the Guardium's whereabouts at all times. The vehicle is controlled by the people monitoring its environment. It sends data to the command station letting them know its location, destination, and the view of its surroundings through its rotating camera. It is possible because of the wireless connection built inside the vehicle that transmits the data directly to the server in the command station.

Technology

Cameras

The main camera is up on top which can rotate a full 360 degrees for full access to the terrain. The cameras can capture thermal images and they have the ability to take videos in certain situations. In cases when the guardium comes across an invader it will record the confrontation for government records and for future access. The cameras have built in auto-target so that it comes to focus when an enemy or object comes in range. They also have back up batteries to in cases where they need to run for 24 hours non-stop.

Gallery

Guardium001.jpg GuardiumLS2.jpg Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - Israeli Made Guardium UGV (4).jpg GuardiumLS1.jpg Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - Israeli Made Guardium UGV (2).jpg

References

{{Elbit Systems IAI products Unmanned ground combat vehicles