Ever since militaries took to the air, ground pounders have felt their airborne counterparts enjoyed too much glamour as well as too much credit for victories. Strangely, this tension extends to unmanned systems as well. Even an average person has heard of Predator UAVs, who are often featured in news articles, TV shows, and movies.  On the other hand, the humble PackBot and MARCbot UGVs labor in relative obscurity.

Nowhere is this disparity more evident than the current Gaza conflict. Nightly news anchors pour out superlatives on the remarkable Iron Dome air defense system, but mainstream media ignore the important UGVs.

Since it is operated by humans, the Iron Dome is not usually thought of as an unmanned system (technically this can also be said of Predators and most UAVs as well).  However, the Iron Dome’s most remarkable feature is its artificial intelligence, i.e. ability to track incoming rocket/artillery shell, determine whether its trajectory menaces a populated target, and then deploy an interceptor that neutralizes the threat. This is all done automatically in seconds.

Those of us who remember the Patriot anti-missile system controversies of the first Gulf War greet the unbridled enthusiasm surrounding the Iron Dome with more than a little skepticism.  After all, during that war, the successes of the Patriot were also heralded loudly.  It wasn’t until after the battles ceased that a more sober analysis questioned its effectiveness. Indeed, that debate has never been fully resolved.

A few Iron Dome contrarians have also emerged. MIT’s Theodore A. Postol writing in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists argues the Iron Dome’s success rate may be as low as 5%. The relatively low casualty rate of Israelis, who have been subjected to over 3,000 rocket attacks, may be due to their excellent civil defense, and the poor quality of the Palestinian weapons. Some regard the notoriously ineffective Qassams rockets deployed by Hamas as primarily psychological weapons.

Whatever the truth is, what can’t be questioned is that the Iron Dome has provided a great deal of emotional comfort to the Israelis.  I have been in contact with friends in Israel, who have repeatedly told me “We trust in the Iron Dome.”  It could be that Israel has countered a weapon that is primarily psychological with a defensive system that is also primarily psychological.

Qassam rockets may provide good visuals, but the biggest threat to Israel in this war is literally unseen, i.e. the tunnels.  The number, size, and sophistication of Hamas’s tunnels surprised the Israelis, who quickly made their elimination the number one priority of the war.

Exploring enemy’s tunnels is one of the most terrifying missions a foot soldier can undertake. Slowly advancing through a cramped dark environment, a solider must be constantly on guard against hidden booby traps and unseen ambushers.

To assist in this dirty and dangerous task, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have turned to Micro Tactical Ground Robots (MTGR), manufactured by the Israeli firm, Roboteam. MTGR belongs to a smaller class of UGVs, sometimes called “Man-Transportable,” “Throwable-bots,” “Pocketbots,” “Small Unmanned Ground Vehicles (SUGV),” or “Micro-UGVs.”

Militaries around the world have been attracted by the ability of these small UGVs to navigate in compact spaces, and their easy transportability. Prominent American-made small UGVs include ARA Pointman Tactical Robot, and Foster-Miller’s Dragon Runner Reconnaissance Robot.  iRobot fields several compact UGVs, including the 310 SUGV (small version of the PackBot), and  the 110 FirstLook.  This blog explored the advantages and popularity of reduced-size robots in The Incredibly Shrinking UGV.

The Israeli MTGR weighs less than 20 pounds and is only in 17.9” in length. Its Line of Sight (LOS) operating range is 1600 feet.  Five onboard day/night cameras, a microphone and visible/near IR laser pointers work on 360⁰ of Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR). Real-time video, voice, and data stream over encrypted radio transmissions.

As written above, the Israelis have not been forthcoming about their use of the MTGR, which suggest to me that they regard it’s capabilities as an asset to be guarded.  So, while video of the Iron Dome fill the nightly news, the MTGR crawls, unseen through the darkness. Sometimes, what you can’t see, can save your life.

AMREL is a leading provider of Operator Control Units for SUGVs.

To learn more, please contact Rob Culver at (603) 325-3376 or robertc@amrel.com

 

 An opinion piece.

ForeignPolicy.com has a very good article on unmanned systems (there is a registration wall, but it’s free). Written by Michael C. Horowitz, Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, The Looming Robotics Gap is full of interesting facts and figures.  The only problem with the article is that its central premise – the United States military is in immediate danger of losing its technological edge – is a load of hooey.

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