We already have plenty of robot sentries/killers in the sky, so Israeli defense firm G-NIUS felt it important to tip the balance a little over to the four-wheeled category (joining the DARPA Urban Challenge folks) with its Guardium UGV. Designed mostly for border patrol and recon missions, the Guardium’s onboard telemetry can receive GPS coordinates for adapting its pre-programmed routes on the fly and avoid obstacles on its own. And judging by the video, it’s pretty damn fast.
So far it only carries cameras and recon gear, but the company claims it can be fitted with a variety of different modular systems which could include weapons. For now, buyers will have to settle for chemical snifters, missile launch detectors, and an “RFID Interrogator,” which might just be tactical speak for “RFID reader for border-jumpers’ passports.” [G-NIUS via CNET]
