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Section
1
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Detection
Equipment
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Detection Equipment The Department of Defense Humanitarian Demining R&D Program has aggressively sought technologies to improve landmine detection. The challenge to improve detection of mines with low-metal content, while at the same time discriminating them from nonexplosive debris, is difficult. To address these challenges, the R&D program has evaluated several prototype systems using simple to sophisticated technologies. These include improved metal detectors, ground penetrating radar, and infrared and ultraviolet sensors. In addition, the program has examined various "sensor fusion" applications in conjunction with automatic target recognition (ATR) and the use of dogs. This program takes advantage of technology expertise resident in other U. S. Government laboratories and research centers, industry, academia, foreign countries, commercial demining companies, nongovernmental organizations, and private volunteer organizations. During the last 18 months, program detection efforts have focused on: an international project to evaluate commercially available metal detectors; the Electromagnetic wave Detection and Imaging Transceiver (EDIT), a portable device for detecting and imaging metallic / non-metallic landmines; and the Mine Detection and Detonation System (MDDS), a vehicle mounted metal detection array attached to an armored Lion II vehicle.
Completed mine detection efforts have addressed systems for wide area mine and minefield detection, as well as ground borne and handheld systems for individual mine detection.
Detection technologies under development for the near term future include acoustic and ground penetrating radar.
Humanitarian Demining Developmental Technologies 2000 - 2001 |
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