Humanitarian demining and robotics

Abstract

Antipersonnel mines are a pestilence and need to be dealt with as quickly as possible. Unfortunately the techniques that are being used have hardly changed since the Second World War. Many people throughout the world are working to improve or perfect new mine-detectors. Some are also endeavouring to develop mechanical solutions to increase efficiency of detection. In particular, this is the aim of the Robotics Laboratory of the Belgian project HUDEM. Our objective is to develop remote-controlled mobile platforms capable of carrying mine-detectors. We first review the essential features these vehicles have to possess, then explain the choice that have been made, and finally present various ongoing developments.