UGVS: THE WHAT, THE WHY, AND THE HOW

Given the deteriorating security landscape in the neighbourhood, India must fast forward the development of autonomous weapons that can be force multipliers for the nation’s armed forces, writes COL. ANDREW FERNANDES (RETD)

Unmanned Ground Vehicles have been of interest to man and especially to the realms of defence for years. UGVs in the form of robots were part of science fiction and fantasy in bygone years but, with the advancement of technology, as in other spheres, they have become a part of reality. The use of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) in defence has been steadily expanding and military organisations across the globe are experimenting with their use in an effort to understand what exactly such systems can offer and how they can be best integrated in the current force structures. In India also, their use has been considered and is being actively sought by the Armed Forces. This subject is intended to be covered in the following manner:

• The WHAT – What are UGVs?

• The WHY – Why do we need them or to simplify, what are its applications?

• The HOW – How should we as a Nation address the issue of procuring/developing UGVs?

The WHAT

An unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) is a vehicle that operates while in contact with the ground and is the land-based counterpart to unmanned aerial vehicles and remotely operated underwater vehicles. UGVs can be used for many applications where it may be inconvenient, dangerous, or impossible to have a human operator present. These vehicles have a set of sensors to observe the environment. Thereafter there are two options, either the vehicle can take actions on its own, implying that it is Autonomous in nature, or pass the information to a human operator at a different location who will control the vehicle through teleoperation.