ESPRIT encourages research on detection of landmines
The ESPRIT programme is encouraging proposals for R&D projects on technologies for the detection and identification of anti-personnel landmines. Research on landmines falls under tasks 6.26 6.27 and 6.28 in the area of high performance computing and networking (HPCN) embedded systems. These tasks are the subject of the 15 March 1997 call. Proposals in these tasks will be evaluated in a two-stage procedure, with short proposals due to be submitted by 15 April 1997. Landmines are estimated to kill some 20,000 civilians every year, and with existing techniques for clearing them very costly, they may remain hidden for years after the end of a conflict. The proposal for additional funding for the Fourth Framework Programme, which is currently the subject of discussions between the Parliament and Council, would add some ECU 9 million to the ESPRIT programme's budget for research into detection of landmines.