By Nikolaj Nielsen
An EU-co-financed project is aiming to mass-produce autonomous land vehicles designed to stop irregular migrants.
Using a €13 million grant from the European Commission’s research budget and €7 million of private funding, a consortium of researchers and private firms has after four years of work produced a functioning prototype of the „transportable autonomous patrol for land border surveillance“ or „Talos.“
The unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) was demonstrated in Poland in mid-April at a military training ground in front of a hundred-or-so people, including officials from Frontex, the EU’s Warsaw-based border control agency, Polish ministers and border guards from around Europe.
The complete system includes two autonomous UGVs, an unmanned command unit and a two manned command centres. Sensor towers are deployed in areas not accessible to UGVs. (more on euobserver.com)
