Current Status of activities: completed

Note: This page contains some outdated material and is provided for historical reasons only (illustration of early ideas and developments).

ISMED - Improved scanning metal detector

While moving a metal detector over the ground one can build a 2D image of the signal, related to the content of the ground. The analysis of that image, and the fusion of the results with the information provided by a GPR (ground probing radar), odor sensor, etc. will provide a reliable information on the presence of mines.

Moving the sensor can be made by a regular mechanism, as in the ODIS developed at Dornier [Borgwardt95]. Including the vehicle, the cost of that solution, proposed now to military, may be too high for demining teams.

If the sensor is inside the head of the Pemex robot [Nicoud95], its position may be given by the odometry of the wheels. Due to the slippering of the wheels, a repositionning mechanism must be used (laser, ultrasounds, precise GPS).

Deminers are cheap and can move precisely the sensor. A positionning sensor must provide the position to the software, and should indicate the locations scanned with enough precision. The positionning systems mentionned before can be used. If the sensor system is heavy, wheels may be required, but they may solve the position problem in only one direction.

The project will consist in studying all the options, developing appropriate experimental equipments for testing the validity of the ideas, and then building a working device usable on a demining field. The cost of the sensor system can be estimated to

• Metal detector (Foerster, Schiebel, etc) $4000
• Position detector (inertial, laser, ultrasound) $2000
• Data processing, power supply $2000

This cost corresponds to a few prototypes built without profit. It is anyway far too high.

We will appreciate any help on this project, references about position sensors, signal processing, etc.

References

[Borgwardt95] C.Borgwardt, "ODIS - Ordnance Detection and Identification System", Workshop on Antipersonnel Mine Detection and Removal, Lausanne, June 1995, 74p (LAMI-EPFL, CH-1015 Lausanne, dubois@di.epfl.ch)

[Nicoud95] J.D.Nicoud, Ph.Maechler, "Pemex-B, a low cost robot for searching AP mines", ibid