Researchers develop ground-breaking anti-landmine radar system
Researchers in the Netherlands are developing a radar system that could one day see through solid earth and be used to clear conflict zones of landmines, safely and at a low cost. Writing in the Journal of Design Research, the team explains how the new technology, with further industrial development, could eventually make current no-go areas safe once more. Landmines were first used widely during World War II. Their continued use during conflict represents a significant threat to life and limb in war zone areas, as well as many areas outside of conventional military conflict zones. According to anti-landmine campaigners, every 30 minutes of every day someone finds a landmine or unexploded weapon by accident and either loses their life or suffers serious injury. Over 90% of victims are civilians. In the absence of records, and on account of the low cost of landmines and the vast areas that have been polluted with them due to aerial distribution, clearing them has become an increasingly frustrating, slow and hazardous task. A single landmine might cost €1. Once it is in the ground, locating it and making it safe can cost up to €1000. According to researchers P. van Genderen and A.G. Yarovoy from the Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands, this cost is prohibitively expensive in most areas affected by landmine use. A cheaper solution is therefore needed. The researchers also point out that a detection system that does not distinguish between landmines and other buried objects is not viable. The scientists explain that innovative technologies such as multi-hyper spectral sensors, passive millimetre wave detectors, and charged particle detection, could be effective, but are likely to be very costly and complicated to use. Meanwhile inexpensive methods, such as conventional metal detectors and probing of the ground by a human operator are prone to serious error with major repercussions for the operators. The team therefore turned its attention to ultra-wideband radar, believing it has the potential to be much easier to operate than the sophisticated technology, whilst being just as effective and crucially, far less expensive. So far, the team has developed a prototype system that successfully detects model landmines in a test environment. The detection rate is always offset by the false alarm rate, the researchers explain, and the real step forward will be made if this balance can be made more favourable. Shifting the balance between detection rate and false alarm rate will be the focus of further research.
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Netherlands