The improved landmine detection system

Abstract

This paper has outlined the approach being taken for the development of an improved landmine detection and marking system (ILDS) for peacekeeping roles. An incremental approach is being used which enables an urgent operational requirement to be addressed expeditiously in spite of the considerable difficulty of the fundamental detection problem. It also enables significant progress to be made in a relatively short time period with very limited budgets and R&D resources. The main features of the ILDS solution have also been described. By limiting the scope of the total landmine detection problem, currently available detection technologies with known capabilities may be used in conjunction with data fusion techniques to produce an improved landmine detection capability. This system will provide landmine clearance personnel with a system which is much faster and safer than the currently available manual methods, and represents a significant step towards a solution to the overall landmine detection problem. The ILDS concept consists of a teleoperated remote detection vehicle platform and a command vehicle. A combination of metal detector, ground penetrating radar, and thermal neutron activation detectors are used.