Technology Could Help Clear Mines Faster

Technology Could Help Clear Mines Faster

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One of the many unfortunate consequences of traditional armed warfare is that once the war is over, many dangers remain. Mines and unexploded ordnance litter the globe, endangering the lives of civilians. Experts estimate that it could take up to 1,100 years to clear all the mines strewn around the world. In the meantime, many communities are faced with daily risk to their lives. Several EU-funded projects are working on speeding up the mine-clearing process with the aid of technology.

One of the projects, TIRAMISU, has been trying to change this grim state of affairs over the last few years. As part of their work, a group led by Haris Balta, research engineer at the Belgian Royal Military Academy, developed an unmanned aerial system (UAS) that builds 3D model of an area and picks up a host of useful data.

Their work was put to the test after flooding in 2014 Bosnia and Herzegovina displaced thousands of landmines into unknown locations. After surveying the area with the UAS, Balta arrived in a village to find children playing just 50 metres from the location of an unexploded mine. The mine was cleared, and following the work in the area the team’s UAS is now a respected tool in the field.

Balta’s team, in cooperation with German institution Vallon GmbH, also developed an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), the RMA tEODor. It is a caterpillar-tracked, low-set rover armed with an array of metal detecting instruments. RMA tEODor can check up to 1,000 square metres in an hour. In contrast, a human with a hand-held detector can do only 120.

But the problem with mine detection is that we simply don’t know where exactly we need to look for them. Due to the warranted extreme caution, fenced off areas can be dauntingly large, and in many cases up to 98 percent of closed-off area can be mine-free.

Another EU-funded project, DBOX, is working to solve this problem. They’ve created software that combines a variety of data sources, including war records, mine-explosion records, local residents’ testimonies, and data from satellites, LIDAR, infrared sensors, and that from metal detectors and ground penetrating radar to build a 3D model of the area’s surface, and where mines are likely to be located.