01 — Problem statement
15,000 km of border. Most of it, most of the time, unwatched.
Remote areas need a camera that watches all year, stays hidden, works in any weather, needs no maintenance visits — and can tell our own troops from intruders.
Hard to reach
Key mountain passes can only be reached part of the year. Patrols visit each pass 2–4 times a month, April to October.
Hidden
Dense forest, rain, snow and fog block the view from drones and aircraft — and intruders know it.
Too many alerts
Ordinary camera traps send HQ every animal, gust of wind and moving branch. The real alert gets lost.
Visits give it away
Changing batteries means regular trips to the camera — leaving tracks and routines an adversary can watch.
Own troops
Cameras can’t tell our patrols from intruders, so every patrol sets off a false alarm.
02 — What it must do
A hidden, all-weather camera that works day and night, is managed remotely, and must:
01
Power itself for 12+ months
02
Send photos and alerts to Battalion HQ
03
Stay compact and camouflaged
04
Work in harsh weather and low visibility
05
Tell own troops from intruders
04 — Architecture
One core. One radio slot.
The core is designed and tested once. A new radio is a plug-in module, not a new product — and it stays off until there is a confirmed alert to send.
SENSORS
Motion sensor (PIR)
Low-light camera + invisible IR
Ground vibration sensor (option)
Thermal camera (option)
Low-light camera + invisible IR
Ground vibration sensor (option)
Thermal camera (option)
CORE
On-board AI processor
Battery management · encrypted storage · tamper protection · GPS time and location
RADIO SLOT
Cellular
Satellite
LoRa mesh
Satellite
LoRa mesh
The camera recognises which radio is fitted and sets itself up — no configuration in the field.
05 — How it works
It sleeps until something moves.
always on
Detect
A low-power motion sensor watches continuously.
under 2 ms
Recognise
Takes 3–4 photos and decides: person, vehicle or animal? Animals and moving branches are ignored.
second check
Confirm
Checks again, uses thermal if fitted, and looks for a friendly tag. Saves the full photo securely.
radio on
Alert
Sends a short alert with a cropped photo to HQ, then goes back to sleep.
AI models trained on Indian mountain and forest imagery — snow glare, fog, night and thermal. Target: fewer than 5% false alerts a week.
06 — What it recognises
It decides on the spot. No cloud, no operator needed.
Simulated camera view · for illustration
Recognises
Person · vehicle · animalREADY
Line crossing & loiteringREADY
Own-troop tagNEW
Weapon carriedIN TRAINING
Flag / insigniaIN TRAINING
Group size & directionIN TRAINING
Can trigger
ALARM & LIGHT
GATE LOCK
WAKE NEARBY CAMERAS
HQ ALERT
STAY SILENT
07 — Capabilities
Eight capabilities. One camera.
All run on the camera itself. Most are a settings change, not new hardware.
01Live
Detect
Tells people and vehicles from animals, so wildlife doesn’t set off alerts.
53 ms · measured
02Ready to enable
Body posture
Reads 17 points on the body to spot climbing, crawling, loitering or a man down.
~55 ms · est.
03Ready to enable
Exact outline
Traces each intruder’s shape, so no-go zones and group counts stay accurate.
~63 ms · est.
04Ready to enable
Second check
A fast second look: uniform or civilian, which animal, is it really a person.
~15 ms · est.
05Ready to enable
Movement rules
Line crossed, in which direction, how many people, how long they stayed.
A few ms
06In development
Actions over time
Behaviour across several seconds, such as a person falling or crawling.
Not yet tested
07In development
Sound
Gunshots, vehicle engines, chainsaws and breaking glass, even out of view.
Low power
08Hardware ready
Second camera
Day with thermal, or wide with zoom, paired inside the same unit.
Hardware supported
Times are per camera frame on the built-in AI chip · only detection is measured so far, the rest are engineering estimates
08 — Day, night, thermal
Three ways of seeing. One decision.
Colour by day, invisible infrared by night, and body heat with the thermal option. The same AI reads all three and follows the same rules.
DAY · LOW-LIGHT CAMERA
NIGHT · INVISIBLE INFRARED
THERMAL · OPTIONAL MODULE
IF an armed person crosses the line at night → sound alarm, urgent alert to HQ
IF own troops with a valid tag → record only, send nothing
IF a watch-listed flag is seen → lock gate, send photo to HQ
09 — Where it works
Same camera. Any terrain.
The core and AI stay the same. The shell, sensors and radio change to suit the location.
Snow passDAY
DesertDAY
From the treetopTOP-DOWN
City rooftopFLAG / INSIGNIA
UnderwaterDIVER
Server roomTHERMAL OPTION
10 — Critical facilities
Heat before smoke. Fire before the alarm.
It can act on its own: increase cooling, cut power to a rack, trigger fire suppression or lock the door.
Rack overheatingTHERMAL OPTION
Fire & smokeSTANDARD CAMERA
11 — Sensors
Range comes from the lens, not megapixels.
Top view · the motion sensor wakes the camera; the lens decides how far it sees.
Low-light camera
STANDARD
2 MP sensor with 940 nm infrared lighting — invisible to the eye and to most night-vision devices.
Thermal camera
OPTION
Sees body heat through foliage, smoke and fog. Switches on only when needed. 384×288 or 640×512.
Motion sensor
STANDARD
Passive infrared (PIR), always on at very low power. Reliable to 15–25 m.
Ground sensor
OPTION
Buried vibration sensor that picks up footsteps and vehicles beyond motion-sensor range.
Evidence
ALL VERSIONS
Full-size photos stored encrypted, with GPS location and time. Collected by patrol or requested by HQ.
12 — Communications
Three radios. One picture at HQ.
HQ sees the same alerts on the same screen, whichever radio is fitted. The satellite module is designed to work with an Indian-operated service.
Cellular
AvailableGSM, 4G or LTE-M on a local SIM card. For sites with mobile coverage.
Each alert
Details + cropped photo
Reaches HQ
About 30 s
Satellite
NextDirect to satellite through a small hidden antenna, for sites with no network at all.
Each alert
Details + small thumbnail
Reaches HQ
1–3 min
LoRa mesh
RoadmapCameras pass alerts along to one relay on a ridge, which sends them on to HQ.
Each alert
Details + thumbnail
Reaches HQ
Seconds + relay link
13 — Friend or foe
It knows your patrol from theirs.
Our soldiers carry a small coded tag, about the size of a coin. When Argus sees a person, it checks for a valid tag before deciding whether to send an alert.
No false alarms from own patrols
Fewer transmissions, longer battery, harder to detect
Lost tags can be cancelled from HQ
○ FRIEND
Recorded with tag number and time. No alert is sent — and HQ gets a record of patrol movement.
● UNKNOWN
Alert sent to HQ with photo, location and time. Operators check it and decide how to respond.
Simulated camera views · for illustration
14 — Endurance
12+
months on a single charge.
No solar needed. One 170 Wh battery, rated to −30 °C, even under snow for weeks.
No maintenance visits. No battery changes means no footprints leading to the camera.
BATTERY LEFT · ONE YEAR ON A HIGH PASS
Engineering estimate · 10 alerts a day · no solar. Optional solar panel for busy satellite sites; extreme-cold battery for the highest passes.
15 — Camouflage
One sealed core. Three skins.
Matte finish and a hooded lens, so nothing reflects light. It stays cool while asleep, so thermal sights can’t spot it.
Bark & canopy
Real bark texture and mesh, strapped high on a tree trunk.
Rock & scree
Colour-matched to local stone, placed among boulders.
Snow & ice
Non-reflective white-grey, with a separate hidden satellite antenna.
INSIDE THE SEALED CORE
16 — Security & standards
If it’s captured, it gives nothing away.
Signed software
Only approved software and AI updates will run.
Encrypted
AES-256 on storage and radio. Each camera has its own key.
Tamper wipe
If opened or moved, it sends a last alert and erases its keys.
Radio silence
HQ can switch the radio off; alerts are held and sent later.
GPS-stamped
Every alert carries location and time.
MIL-STD-810H
MIL-STD-461G
IP67 · IEC 60529
−30 to +55 °C
17 — Deployment
Install once. Hear only what matters.
01
A team installs the camera at a good vantage point. Location and encryption keys are set.
02
The camera sleeps on very low power and wakes when something moves.
03
It takes photos, confirms with AI and checks for a friendly tag.
04
An alert reaches HQ in about 30 s. Operators decide the response.
● PRIORITY ALERTARGUS-07 · 02:14:07
WHAT IT SAW
Person, armed
FRIENDLY TAG
None found
LOCATION
32.71°N 77.84°E
REACHED HQ
28 s · cellular
AcknowledgeRequest full photo
18 — Roadmap
Same core, more links, more places.
FIRST RELEASE
Cellular
GSM, 4G and LTE-M on a local SIM card. For borders, passes and trails with mobile coverage.
NEXT
Satellite
Direct satellite link with a hidden antenna, ready for an Indian satellite service. Server-room heat monitoring in development.
ROADMAP
LoRa mesh
Groups of cameras covering a whole valley through one relay on a ridge. Coastal and underwater versions to follow.
Always watching where people can’t stay.
mel@mudraindia.com
Mudra Electronics Ltd. · Somdutt Chambers-II, 9 Bhikaji Cama Place, New Delhi 110066
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