Guardium, developed by G-NIUS, is an Israeli

unmanned ground vehicle An unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) also known colloquially as armored robot (ARB) is a vehicle that operates while in contact with the ground without an onboard human presence. UGVs can be used for many applications where it is inconvenient, dan ...

(UGV) used by the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

along Gaza's border. It was jointly developed by

Israel Aerospace Industries Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI; ), is Israel's major aerospace and aviation manufacturer, producing aerial and astronautic systems for both military and civilian usage. It has 14,000 employees as of 2021. IAI is state-owned by the government ...

and

Elbit Elbit Systems Ltd. is an Israel-based international military technology company and defense contractor. Founded in 1966 by Elron Electronic Industries, Elron, Elbit Systems is the primary provider of the Israeli military's land-based equipme ...

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

Features

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; 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, 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 ...

. 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 convention ...

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 Israel Aerospace Industries products Unmanned ground combat vehicles