[JPost] Take a hostage (robot), assholes. It will send the artillery coordinates, or just explode - you're familiar with that atrocity, right?
Elbit Systems and Roboteam have released the ROOK UGV, which will support infantry in a number of frontline roles.
"If you want to send robots where you don’t want to send soldiers, you need a solution for that," said Elad Levy, CEO and founder of Roboteam.
His company, together with Elbit Systems, on Tuesday, announced the debut of what they are calling "the mothership of unmanned vehicles": ROOK, a multi-payload military 6x6 Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV).
The UGV’s innovative design and built-in autonomy suite offers improved capacity, maneuverability and agility from its previous models, creating "a human machine" that is "really part of the team," said Yoav Poizner, the senior director of Elbit C4I and Cyber.
He said the ROOK is the next step toward enabling "everything that happens in the sky" through use of drones and aerial robots to occur on the ground and in the field where soldiers need it, too.
The ROOK was developed based on the operational experience accumulated through fielding of the 4x4 PROBOT UGV systems, which became operational a few years ago through a first collaboration between the two companies.
What makes ROOK most unique is that it started as a connected system, the teams said.
"Because we built it from the first screw, we know how the robot works with the software," Levy said.
"It has built-in autonomy and built-in artificial intelligence that provides a full solution. Without that level of sophistication, you would not want to rely on it in the field."
The ROOK was designed from scratch as a robotic UGV platform in compliance with applicable military standards, a release explained. It has a modular box structure that allows for components to be replaced by users in the field without the support of the manufacturer.
Other features include a low center of gravity, essential for carrying heavy payloads on rough terrain. The ROOK weighs 1,200 kg. (2,646 lbs.) and can carry a payload equivalent to its own body weight. It stands 24 cm. above the ground and travels at a speed up to 30 kilometers an hour (19 mph). 
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