Drones Can Now Sniff Out Bombs

Drones Can Now Sniff Out Bombs

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Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have brought out a new tool in the fight against terrorism: bomb sniffing drones. The team took existing technology used to detect drugs and chemical and nuclear weapons and minituarised it so can be fitted on drones.

The technology should be familiar to all but the most casual observer. You see it in many airports at security checkpoint to scan luggage. In essence, arrays of sensors look for particle traces and gamma rays that reveal the presence of bomb making materials. What’s new here is that now this technology is mobile.

Uses and applications for this could be far ranging, from detecting roadside bombs in combat zones in countries like Iraq and Syria to ensuring Iran complies with its commitment to not manufacture nuclear weapons. It could also be used domestically, to quickly respond to bomb and terror threats.

But the technology’s uses are not limited to the homeland security and defence fields. It could be used to map deposits of valuable minerals or help rescue survivors of natural disasters such as earthquakes.

“From what I’ve read, its applications are only limited by the imagination of the user,” said John Weidner of the the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. “I think this can be a tremendous tool.”

The technology should hit the market in a year or two, and it has already generated a lot of interest. Japan is reportedly looking to buy this technology to secure the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.