Photo courtesy of Tim Grant

THE TECHNOLOGY SHORTFALL

• Current mine detection technology is primitive and marginally effective
• Current technology is profitable to the demining contractor
• Single sensors are ineffective due to the wide variety of mine types and materials and the soil conditions in which they are buried
  • metal detectors miss plastic mines; many false alamrs
  • ground penetrating radar fails in too wet or to dry soils; many false alarms
  • acoustic and optical sensors fail to penetrate brush, weeds, and grass
  • seismic sensors fail in areas with underground utilities or burrows
• A successful solution requires a suite of sensors exploiting different technologies