An unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) also known colloquially as armored robot (ARB) is a vehicle that operates while in contact with the ground without an onboard human presence. UGVs can be used for many applications where it is inconvenient, dangerous, expensive, or impossible to use an onboard human operator. Typically, the vehicle has sensors to observe the environment, and autonomously controls its behavior or uses a remote human operator to control the vehicle via teleoperation.
The UGV is the land-based counterpart to unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned underwater vehicles and unmanned surface vehicles. Unmanned robots are used in war and by civilians.
History
In 1904, Spanish engineer Leonardo Torres Quevedo was developing a radio-based control system, which he named Telekino. He chose to conduct an initial test in the form of a three-wheeled land vehicle (tricycle), which had an effective range of 20 to 30 meters, the first known example of an unmanned ground vehicle.
The first prototypes of explosive robotic drones were Aubriot-Gabet 'land torpedoes' invented in France in 1915 and the Crocodile Schneider-Creusot. Twenty examples were put into service with the 2nd French Army in July 1915.
A working remote-controlled car was reported in the October 1921 issue of RCA's World Wide Wireless magazine. The car was controlled wirelessly via radio; it was thought the technology could be adapted to tanks. In the 1930s, the USSR developed the Teletank, a small tank, armed with a machine gun. It was remotely controlled by radio from another tank. Teletanks operated in the Winter War (1939–1940) between Finland and the USSR and at the start of the German-Soviet War after Germany invaded the USSR in 1941. During World War II, the British developed a radio-controlled version of their Matilda II infantry tank in 1941. Known as "Black Prince", it would have been used for drawing fire from concealed anti-tank guns, or for demolition missions. Due to the costs of converting the transmission system of the tank to Wilson-type gearboxes, an order for 60 tanks was cancelled.
From 1942, the German used the Goliath tracked mine for remote-controlled demolition work. The Goliath was a tracked vehicle carrying 60 kg of explosive charge, directed through a control cable. It modeled a miniature French tracked vehicle found after the German defeat of France in 1940. The combination of cost, low speed, reliance on a cable for control, and poor protection against weapons, meant that the Goliath was not considered a success.
The first major mobile robot development effort, named "Shakey", took place during the 1960s as a research study for the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Shakey was a wheeled platform that had a TV camera, sensors, and a computer to help guide its tasks of picking up wooden blocks and placing them in certain areas based on commands. DARPA subsequently developed a series of autonomous and semi-autonomous ground robots, often in conjunction with the U.S. Army. As part of the Strategic Computing Initiative of 1983–1993, DARPA demonstrated the Autonomous Land Vehicle, (ALV), the first UGV that could navigate completely autonomously on and off roads at useful speeds.
UGVs rose in significance after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and the dramatic rise in use of unmanned aerial vehicles. On March 29, 2024, as part of the Eastern Ukraine Campaign, a platoon of Russian UGVs equipped with AGS-17 automatic grenade launchers was deployed for an assault near the town of Berdychi in Ukraine, marking the first ever use of UGVs for direct frontline assaults.
During an undated operation, the 3rd Assault Brigade claimed the world's first surrender of enemy soldiers to unmanned drones in the Kharkiv Oblast. FPV and ground drones were used to attack the Russian positions. As more ground drones approached the position, the Russians opted to surrender. The Ukrainian ground drones then guided the Russians soldiers to the Ukrainian position where they surrendered. The press release read: "For the first time in history: Russian soldiers surrendered to the 3rd Assault Brigade's ground drones,".
On 22 December 2025, the 3rd Assault Brigade said that a Ukrainian UGV, a Droid TW 12.7 armed with a .50-caliber machine gun, held off Russian attacks for 45 days while being operated either remotely or using AI. The first time a position was held solely by an UGV without direct human support such as infantry.
In 2026 Operation Vivaldi saw large-scale use of UGVs as part of combined arms operations. The 3rd Army Corps used combined electronic warfare, air defense, aerial drones, and unmanned ground vehicles to take control of over 125 square kilomoters of land supported by conventional tanks and armoured vehicles in manoeuvre warfare. Heavy aerial drones were used to air-drop ground robots behind Russian lines while Russian reconnaissance capabilities were suppressed by air defence and electronic warfare units. According to Ukraine 80% of logistics and 90% of evacuations were carried out using UGVs and were used for both mine-clearing and minelaying.
Design UGVs generally include: a vehicle platform, sensors, control systems, guidance interface, communication links, and systems integration features.
Platform The platform can be a car, truck, all-terrain vehicle, etc., and includes the locomotive apparatus, sensors, and power source. Tracks, wheels, and legs are common forms of locomotion. The platform may include an articulated body and may join with other units. Power sources can be internal combustion engines, batteries, or hydrogen.
Sensors Sensors create a model of the environment, showing other vehicles, pedestrians, and obstacles. They also locate the vehicle on the navigation path. Sensors can include compasses, odometers, inclinometers, gyroscopes, cameras, laser and ultrasound rangefinders, GPS radios, and infrared technology.
Control systems Unmanned ground vehicles are generally considered Remote-Operated or Autonomous, although Supervisory Control is a combination of autonomous and remote operation.
Remote operated A remote-operated UGV is controlled by a human operator. The operator makes decisions based upon either direct visual observation or sensors such as cameras. A basic example of remote operation would be a remote-controlled toy car.
Examples: Autonomous Solutions BTR-90 "Krymsk" APC Clearpath Robotics DOK-ING mine clearing, firefighting, and underground mining UGVs DRDO Daksh Foster-Miller TALON Frontline Robotics Teleoperated UGV (TUGV) Gladiator tactical unmanned ground vehicle (used by the United States Marine Corps) G-NIUS Autonomous Unmanned Ground Vehicles (Israel Aerospace Industries/Elbit Systems joint venture) Guardium GROVER – Goddard remotely operated vehicle for exploration and research Uran-9 iRobot PackBot MacroUSA Armadillo V2 Micro UGV (MUGV) and Scorpion SUGV Mesa Associates Tactical Integrated Light-Force Deployment Assembly (MATILDA) Nerekhta UGV, appeared at Zapad 2021 during Belarus-Russia exerciseReuben Johnson (4 Oct 2021) NATO’s Big Concern from Russia’s Zapad Exercise: Putin’s Forces Lingering in Belarus Uran-9 and Nerekhta UGVs both appeared. Neither are fully autonomous robotic combat vehicles (RCVs), but rather are remotely controlled. Nova 5 Remotec ANDROS F6A Ripsaw MS1 Robowatch ASENDRO Unmanned Snatch Land Rover. THeMIS used by the Royal Netherlands Army and developed by Milrem Robotics Unmanned ground vehicle Miloš used by Serbian Armed Forces Vecna Robotics Battlefield Extraction-Assist Robot (BEAR) VIPeR
Autonomous
An autonomous UGV (AGV) is an autonomous robot that replaces the human controller with artificial intelligence technologies. The vehicle uses sensors to feed a model of the environment, which supports a control system that determines the next action. This eliminates the need for humans to watch over the vehicle.
An autonomous vehicle must have the ability to: Navigate based on maps that allow the vehicle to pick a route from origin to destination. Detect objects such as people and vehicles. Travel between waypoints without human assistance. Avoid harming people, property or itself, unless those are part of its mission.
A robot may also be able to learn autonomously. Autonomous learning includes the ability to: Gain capabilities. Adjust strategies based on the surroundings. Adapt to surroundings. Behave ethically in pursuit of mission goals.
Armed autonomous machines must distinguish between combatants and civilians. This is particularly true in conflicts where combatants intentionally disguise themselves as civilians to avoid detection. Even highly accurate but imperfect systems can pose unacceptable civilian losses.
Guidance interface The interface between the machine and the human operator can include a joystick, autonomous software, or voice commands.
Communication links Communication between UGV and control station can be done via radio or fiber optics. It may include communication with other machines and robots.
Systems integration The various hardware and software elements must work together to produce desired results.
Uses A wide variety of UGVs were in use as of 2025. They typically replace humans in hazardous situations, such as handling explosives and in bomb disabling vehicles, where additional strength or smaller size is needed, or where humans cannot safely go. Military applications include surveillance, reconnaissance, and target acquisition. They are used in industries such as agriculture, mining, and construction. UGVs are effective in naval operations, and for the Marine Corps in combat; they can help in logistics operations on land and sea.
UGVs are under development for peacekeeping operations, ground surveillance, gatekeeper/checkpoint operations, urban street presence and to enhance police and military raids in urban settings. UGVs can "draw first fire" from adversaries—reducing military and police casualties. Furthermore, UGVs are used in rescue and recovery mission and were used to find survivors following 9/11 at Ground Zero. In Hong Kong, the police and other workers use driverless vehicles.
Space
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover project included two UGVs, Spirit and Opportunity. Both performed beyond design parameters. This is attributed to redundant systems, careful handling, and long-term interface decision-making. Opportunity and its twin, Spirit, are six-wheeled, solar-powered ground vehicles. They were launched in July 2003 and landed on opposite sides of Mars in January 2004. Spirit operated nominally until it became trapped in deep sand in April 2009, lasting more than 20 times longer than expected. Opportunity was operational for more than 14 years beyond its intended lifespan of three months. Curiosity landed on Mars on 6 August 2012, and its original two-year mission has since been extended until October 2025 ( days longer than expected).
Civilian and commercial Civilian applications are automating processes in manufacturing environments. They work as autonomous tour guides for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the Swiss National Exhibition Expo.
Agriculture
UGVs are one type of agricultural robot. Unmanned tractors can operate around the clock, to meet short windows for harvesting. UGVs are used for spraying and thinning. They can be used to monitor crop and livestock health.
Manufacturing In the manufacturing environment, UGVs are used for transporting materials. Aerospace companies use these vehicles for precision positioning and transporting heavy, bulky components between manufacturing stations, which is faster than using large cranes and can keep people out of dangerous areas.
Mining UGVs can be used to traverse and map mine tunnels. Combining radar, laser, and visual sensors, UGVs are in development to map 3D rock surfaces in open pit mines.
Supply chain