UGV against Starlink outages: Roboneers retrofits “Rys Pro” and “Rys+” with Wi-Fi antenna

Ukrainian company Roboneers has fitted its “Rys Pro” and “Rys+” ground robots with a new LTE and Wi-Fi antenna, the manufacturer announced. Both systems are unmanned ground vehicles (UGV). If satellite or mobile reception is lost because of obstacles – for example when Starlink fails – the antenna is to provide additional control options. The Wi-Fi channel has a maximum range of 60 metres.

According to Roboneers, the impetus came from the users themselves:

We received this request directly from the teams that operate unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs): there are sections of route – such as tunnels or wooded areas – where LTE and Starlink signals simply cannot be received, and losing the connection in such places carries the risk of the vehicle going out of control. Another possibility is that an enemy FPV drone could hit the antenna and put the Starlink unit out of action while the UGV remains operational— Roboneers

In both situations, Wi-Fi provides an additional communication channel through which an operator, from another UGV or even from a drone, can establish a connection to the vehicle and regain control.— Roboneers

A second radio link for the UGV

The antenna also allows the vehicle to be located via Wi-Fi if required. If primary communication is temporarily lost, the UGV can be brought back under control this way. The update supplements the existing radio links of both vehicles – above all the digital MESH network and the standard Starlink equipment, which ensure reliable control in most operational situations.

The “Rys+”, cleared for use by the Ukrainian Armed Forces earlier, has also received a red-light projector. This makes maintenance on the chassis-mounted robotic system possible at night without revealing the camouflaged position – which would not be the case with ordinary white light.