A suspended device for humanitarian demining

A device suspended from cables could provide safe access to a minefield for scanning with sensors or to detonate undetectable mines with a mechanical probe. Such a device could provide an economic and semi-automatic means for humanitarian demining, and has the potential for some local manufacture. This paper examines the concept and economic performance issues. A tool carrier is suspended above the minefield by a system of steel cables controlled by winches on three or more poles or towers at the corners of the minefield. The tool carrier can moved to a chosen position and orientation between the poles under fully or semi-automatic control. It could carry one or more of: a sensor package for mapping the minefield, a rotary cutter and gripper for removing unwanted vegetation or clearing pieces of metal, or a ground “pounding” device to detonate mines. This could be designed with an expendable foam plastic foot which would absorb the mine blast. This device could significantly improve existing detection techniques because the location of the detector is known for each measurement. Compared with conventional hand-held detectors, much more sophisticated signal processing should be feasible, and it may be possible to reduce false alarm rates on metallic mines and nonmetallic mines with metal fuses