Abstract
Landmines and unexploded ordnance are a se-
rious threat to the life and livelihood in post conflict areas
in many parts of the world. In addition to the many casual-
ties each year, the inaccessible roads and loss of cultivated
areas have a significant impact on the local economy. Many
organisations are running humanitarian demining projects
to clear the contaminated areas. But progress is slow since
mine clearance is a very time-consuming process, and there
is no room for error since most existing techniques involves
an operator on site. A number of research projects have
demonstrated various mine detection robot prototypes dur-
ing the past decade, yet robots do not seem to be utilized
in practical humanitarian demining projects.
The Biosystems Engineering Group at the University
of Southern Denmark collaborates with companies experi-
enced in design of all-terrain vehicles and sensor technology
to develop autonomous tool carriers for use in biological
production applications. This article presents the first re-
sults applying this combined knowledge and experience to
humanitarian demining.
The aim is to develop a low-cost, reliable, efficient and
user-friendly robot capable of detecting and mapping land-
mines. It is hypothesized that with the exception of very
inaccessible terrain an autonomous robot will be more ef-
ficient and reliable for mapping detected landmines than
manual methods using the same sensor technology. At the
same time it does not expose the operator to the risk of
harm.
This paper presents the first results from the project.
The existing robot platform design has been simplified to
lower cost and allow repair in the field with limited tools and
spare parts. The robot will be able to utilize various mine
detection implements and support different detection meth-
ods simultaneously. The FroboMind architecture based on
Robot Operating System (ROS) is used for robot control.
Software components will be released as open-source for
others to build upon.
rious threat to the life and livelihood in post conflict areas
in many parts of the world. In addition to the many casual-
ties each year, the inaccessible roads and loss of cultivated
areas have a significant impact on the local economy. Many
organisations are running humanitarian demining projects
to clear the contaminated areas. But progress is slow since
mine clearance is a very time-consuming process, and there
is no room for error since most existing techniques involves
an operator on site. A number of research projects have
demonstrated various mine detection robot prototypes dur-
ing the past decade, yet robots do not seem to be utilized
in practical humanitarian demining projects.
The Biosystems Engineering Group at the University
of Southern Denmark collaborates with companies experi-
enced in design of all-terrain vehicles and sensor technology
to develop autonomous tool carriers for use in biological
production applications. This article presents the first re-
sults applying this combined knowledge and experience to
humanitarian demining.
The aim is to develop a low-cost, reliable, efficient and
user-friendly robot capable of detecting and mapping land-
mines. It is hypothesized that with the exception of very
inaccessible terrain an autonomous robot will be more ef-
ficient and reliable for mapping detected landmines than
manual methods using the same sensor technology. At the
same time it does not expose the operator to the risk of
harm.
This paper presents the first results from the project.
The existing robot platform design has been simplified to
lower cost and allow repair in the field with limited tools and
spare parts. The robot will be able to utilize various mine
detection implements and support different detection meth-
ods simultaneously. The FroboMind architecture based on
Robot Operating System (ROS) is used for robot control.
Software components will be released as open-source for
others to build upon.
Originalsprog | Engelsk |
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Publikationsdato | 24. apr. 2012 |
Antal sider | 7 |
Status | Udgivet - 24. apr. 2012 |
Begivenhed | 9th International Humanitarian Demining Symposium: 10th IARP Workshop Robotics and Mechanical assistance in Humanitarian Demining and similar risky intervention - Sibenik, Kroatien Varighed: 24. apr. 2012 → 26. apr. 2012 |
Konference
Konference | 9th International Humanitarian Demining Symposium |
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Land/Område | Kroatien |
By | Sibenik |
Periode | 24/04/2012 → 26/04/2012 |