Design and implementation of an unmanned ground vehicle for security applications

This paper describes the design and implementation of a prototype teleoperated unmanned guided vehicle (UGV) for security applications. A commercial Quad motorbike with a 1-cylinder gasoline engine with a power of about 5 HP was reengineered and transformed into a fully automated vehicle that can be teleoperated. The designed UGV is remotely controlled using high speed secure wireless connection. The vehicle is provided with video cameras and controlled pan and tilt motion. The live video is transmitted to an operator in the command and control station who controls steering acceleration, braking, as well as gun positioning and firing using a joystick, a steering wheel and pedals. The command and control computer translates and sends the operator commands to an on-board computer which in turn activates a number of actuators and servo motors for full control of the vehicle. The developed UGV demonstrated clearly the potential application of this vehicle, and incorporated the necessary technology for local manufacturing of these types of vehicles for security applications, or for building less demanding UGV for civilian applications.