Israel's Greatest Robots

In honor of Israel Independence day today, I have dedicated the page today to the top five greatest robotic inventions of the Jewish State.  These robots are not abstract ideas but practical tools that are in currently in the field protecting the  8 million citizens of the land of milk & honey.

The EyeDrive tops of our list as it is an “all-terrain, all-weather surveillance robot developed by ODF Optronics, specially designed for urban warfare, anti-terror and search-and-rescue missions.”  The EyeDrive is literally thrown or dropped into buildings from over 3 meters, to give soldiers a 360 degree view of the potential targets.  Operated remotely, the day-and-night cameras provide real time intelligence to approaching field units.  Did we mention it is indestructible…

Next, the Talon a “powerful, lightweight, and versatile robot designed for a wide array of missions ranging from reconnaissance to bomb neutralization.”  The Talon is one of the fastest robots in the field with amphibious capabilities enabling it to maneuver through sand, water, and snow, and even climb stairs.   In addition to its array of cameras black/white, color, infrared and night-vision, it has sensors to detect nuclear, biological, and chemical threats.  In addition to being deployed in Israel, the Talon has completed over 100,000 missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In the cleanup sport is the ANDROS Wolverine an “all-terrain, heavy-duty robot” that is the IDF’s workhorse for neutralizing explosives.  For over 15 years, the Wolverine has proven itself to be an amazing asset to Israel with its  maneuverable arm, a color surveillance camera, and wheel or track system.

Batting court is Elbit’s AGAMIT. AGAMIT was developed after the Gaza pullout to aid in exploring smuggling tunnels an terror activities along the Egyptian border.  Technically, AGAMIT is not a robot by itself but “a system that can be equipped to many robotic devices”.  Essentially, it maps out tunnels by using a combination of lasers, cameras and remote controlled robots.  This information is compiled by the AGAMIT brain and delivered to the military operator in real-time, giving him a full picture of the situation on the ground and below.

Finally, is MiniCat,  a remote controlled caterpillar bulldozer that can be used as a “Combat Engineering tool.”  MiniCat enables army personnel to stand at safe distances with a touch-screen remote control to accomplish a variety of complex task.  For example, MiniCat is often called upon to patrol the security fence in Gaza and neutralize threats posed by IEDs. MiniCat ability to sweep mines all while controlled in the safety miles away, makes it one of he IDF’s biggest robotic assets.

Theodor Herzl envisioned a modern state of Israel, today we have exceeded even his expectations as not only the people have excelled in creating a vibrant community but its inventions are worldwide keeping humanity safe from terror, truly a “light onto the nations.”