Hamas snipers, anti-tank missiles and explosives threaten IDF soldiers, but the new Guardium Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV), which patrols the Gaza fence around the clock, will; save lives, as well as money.
Guardium UGV
The Guardium is unarmed, but is equipped with 360-degree cameras and a loudspeaker. It is highly mobile, which means that it can stream images from various angles and gather more data than a stationary camera ca, according to the IDF.
Infantry soldiers often patrol alongside the Guardium, which can detect threats from a distance. If it spots something suspicious, the soldiers in the command room immediately notify the foot soldiers in the field of the danger.
Back in the control room, soldiers — all of whom are women — operate the Guardium with joysticks, gear pedals, a steering wheel and monitors that broadcast a live feed from the field.
Even though the UGVs are unmanned, soldiers who want to join the Guardium unit must have a driver’s license for automatic and manual transmissions so they can understand the vehicle’s mechanics and how to guide them with renote control.
“Applicants must be able to focus intensively since the job demands being glued to a screen without interruption for six hour shifts,” said Lt. Avidav, Head of the Guardium Division.
Once accepted to the unit, the soldiers go through a four-month course before sitting “behind the wheel” of the Guardium. As part of the course, the new soldiers participate in drivers training courses on a Jeep as well as a Tomcar.
