A Novel Application of an Unmanned Ground Vehicle for Defense Missions: Construction and Control Issues

An unmanned ground vehicle can operate in various ways and, according to its mission, it has multiple capabilities, with the appropriate sensor attachment. These might refer to operating the vehicle in hazardous environments, dangerous for personnel to operate safely, controlling areas of interest, patrolling unmapped or high-risk areas for the human personnel, where it can function as a detector for road trapping, dangerous gases and other materials, as well as surveillance in military applications. In the presented herein work, a remote-controlled unmanned ground vehicle was constructed, capable in general of executing the above actions, exemplified though to check the runways of airfields for detecting foreign metallic objects that may pose a threat to the safety of aircrafts. Reference is made to the construction materials, the attached sensors, the operating system and the capabilities of the vehicle. Finally, several related issues have been studied and analyzed, including power engineering options, operational control of the vehicle and autonomous action options.