Landmine Detection

MacDonald, J., J. R. Lockwood, J. McFee, T. Altshuler, T. Broach, L. Carin, R. Harmon, C. Rappaport, W. Scott, and R. Weaver. Alternatives for Landmine Detection, RAND Science and Technology Policy Institute, Santa Monica, 2003. 

The underwater sensor platform is derived from the Fido explosives vapor sensor, originally developed under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Dog s Nose Program. The vapor sensor, whose operation is discussed in Chapters 7 and 9 and in other publications [7-9], was developed for the task of landmine detection. The underwater adaptation of the sensor is very similar to the vapor sensor. In the underwater implementation of the sensor, thin films of polymers are deposited onto glass or sapphire substrates. The emission intensity of these films is monitored as water (rather than air) flows past the substrate. If the concentration of TNT in the water beings to rise, the polymer will exhibit a measurable reduction in fluorescence intensity. The reduction in emission intensity is proportional to the concentration of target analyte in the water. Because the sensor is small, lightweight, and consumes little power, it proved to be ideal for deployment on autonomous platforms. 

S. F. A. Bender, P. J. Rodacy, J. A. Shaw, N. L. Seldomridge, L. H. Spangler, and J. J. Wilson. Can honeybees assist in area reduction and landmine detection Journal of Mine Action, Issue 7.3, Harrisonburg, VA, December 2003. 

Sensors for landmine detection must also be veiy selective. The soil in which mines are deployed is a complex mixture composed of hundreds of... 

M. laGrone, C. Cumming, M. Fisher, D. Reust and R. Taylor, Landmine detection by chemical signature detection of vapors of nitroaromatic compounds by fluorescence quenching of novel polymer materials, Proc. SPIE, Detection and Remediation Technologies for Mines and Minelike Targets IV, 3710 (1999) 409-420. 

F. Cremer, K. Schutte, J.G.M. Schavemaker and E. den Breejen, A comparison of decision-level sensor-fusion methods for anti-persormel landmine detection, Information Fusion 2 (2001) 187-208. 

For example, epithermal NAA has been shown to be a powerful tool in the characterization of uranium over a wide range of concentrations (sub-ppm to several percent) in samples which may also have a rare earth content of 10 percent or greater. Neutron Activation analysis has been used for the detection of explosives, fissile materials, and drugs. The application of landmines detection with an isotopic source or pulsed generator has been discussed in detail by Hussein and Waller (2000) and Csikai et al. (2004). 

---