Locally-made Kawbra Unmanned Ground Vehicle makes debut on first day of DSA exhibition

By Ahmad Syabil Sultan Noordin Ahmad 

KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 (Bernama) -- The ‘Kawbra’ Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV), the first local production of its kind, made its debut in front of the world’s military industry players at the Defence Service Asia (DSA) and National Security Conference (NATSEC) Asia 2022 today.

Befitting its name, the vehicle, which does not use fuel, moved silently as a cobra during its demonstration. Coincidentally, the shape of front end of the vehicle does bear a certain resemblance to the cobra. 

The UGV is developed by the Science & Technology Research Institute For Defence  (STRIDE) with the assistance of Dream Age and is designed as a tactical vehicle for infiltration into risk zones.

STRIDE Manufacturing Engineering Head Aizul Fazli Suhaimi said the UGV could be mobilised into areas dangerous to people including those polluted by toxic waste via remote control.

"We can get the vehicle to enter these areas to gather data and know the actual situation in the area via real-time video without endangering any lives,” he told Bernama today.

STRIDE is a department under the Defence Ministry that is responsible for research and development, as well an innovation related to defence technology.

Besides Kawbra, STRIDE is also exhibiting its Remote Control Weapon Station and smart fabric developed by the institute at the exhibition today.

Aizul said that Kawbra is equipped with three sensors, a collision censor that uses infrared technology to detect objects blocking its path, a geo-magnetic sensor and a GPS sensor for follow me mode, and has four cameras in the front, left and right side, and the back for monitoring purposes.

"The vehicle can carry up to 200 kilogrammes (kg) and can travel as far as 40 kilometres per full charge,” he said, adding that the UGV was powered by an electrical charged battery.

Aizul revealed that the UGV’s technology readiness level (TRL) was currently at level four and for commercial purposes, it would require to have a TRL of at least level nine.

"Today is the first time we showed the UGV to the public. We hope that through the exhibition, there will be parties expressing their interest,” he added.

Development on the Kawbra UGV began in 2019 at a cost of under RM1 million, but its completion had been slightly disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

-- BERNAMA