Improvised explosive devices could soon be detected
Suicide bombers have been the toughest challenge for the army to face in disturbance-prone areas such as Iraq and Afghanistan. It is the willingness of the bombers to sacrifice their lives and the haplessness of the army - which finds it impossible to detect such improvised explosive devices - that together spell doom for the soldiers and the civilians. A group of students from the University of Michigan may have finally found a way to detect those dangerous elements in suspected areas.
The group has succeeded in inventing palm-size metal detectors that can easily be slid into trash cans, flowerpots etc. at suspected sites. These detectors are a part of the wireless sensor network that relays info regarding the suspected areas and people who could harm the surrounding with an explosion. There are other variants of such detectors present, but the ones developed by the students have cheaper sensors, lower-power consumption, a far better range and they only weigh about 2 pounds.
The project was actually developed for an Air Force-sponsored competition with Ohio State University. Such competitions are organized to furnish quick solutions to the underlying problem for a military unit, and this novel technology would certainly benefit the army within no time. The challenge for this group of students was to find IEDs without the suspect realizing a detection attempt, and it is beyond doubt that this group was successful.
Via: Umich
