Harvard researcher creates smartphone-aided system of land mine detection

The latest smart phone aided technology in land mine clearing protocol offers a comparatively less dangerous method for locating these explosives. Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) researcher Lahiru Jayatilaka in collaboration with assistant professor Krzysztof Gajos has created a new system of land mine detection. This research will be presented at the Conference on Human factors in Computing Systems. The nomenclature given to this new technology is ‘Pattern Enhancement Tool for Assisting Land Mine Sensing’ (PETALS).

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De-miners generally make use of metal detectors to locate mines in a battlefield and that creates dangerous confusion as it is very hard to distinguish between wires, cans, casings and other metal debris from mines. PETALS will revolutionize the system of landmine detection. De-miners sweep small portions of land repeatedly and when the detector passes over a metallic object buried underground, there is a distinctive beep. This auditory signal helps miners to visualize what may lie underneath. But this system is highly inefficient as an auditory signal cannot really indicate the nature and shape of the metallic object.

PETALS offers a solution to this problem. Lahiru’s detector is fitted with a small screen that shows a red dot when the detector beeps. This dot is basically a picture like representation of the buried metallic object. Land mines are generally round objects with a trigger pin at the center. And the picture will clearly indicate the shape of the object and give the de-miner a clear idea of what he is looking for.

The main challenge that Lahiru faced was to create a de-mining system that was inexpensive with minimum field maintenance, especially because of the need in developing countries. PETALS works with a Smartphone and the final version of this de-mining device can run as a normal mobile device that can easily be fitted to a metal detector. The best part is that using this technology will not require a sea change or new training to the de-miners. The visual aid will be of immense help to new recruits and the system as such guarantees 80 percent success.

Via: Harvard/Physorg