The designers of Mine Kafon Drone (MKD) envision a world free of landmines in the next ten years. MKD can autonomously detect and destroy the mines.
It is believed that more than 100 million landmines have been deployed all over the world, many of them remnants of conflicts that have long been resolved. Every year, millions of innocent civilians lose their lives or become physically handicapped in the incidents involving landmines.
MKD is not only faster but is also 200 times cheaper than the technologies currently being used to clear the landmines. MKD comprises of six rotors and various attachments, depending upon its task. The trio of add-ons is used to map the area, detect mines, and detonation of the detected mines.
The drone detects the landmines using a metal detector. The mines are then flagged with GPS markers. Once flagged, the drone is fitted with the robotic arm to place a small detonator on the spot. The tennis ball sized detonator is exploded once the robot safely returns.
The MKD design team is led by Massoud Hassani, the inventor of Mine Kafon- a disposable device propelled by the wind, that rolls around fields, blowing up mines as it goes. Hassani hails from Kabul, a country replete with landmines, remnants of war among the local warlords. Stats indicate that more than 10 million landmines have been planted around Kabul, in an area of nearly 500 square kilometres.
Hassani is aiming to raise €70,000 via Kickstarter for further testing of MKD. The primary challenge involved with this method of landmine detection is the difficulty in detecting the landmines that have laid embedded in the earth for decades. Finding the exact geolocation of the mines via GPS poses another problem, with GPS offering a maximum accuracy of around 4 meters. The team wants to overcome these faults using the external antennas for triangulation.
If the design team manages to overcome these challenges, it can save the lives of millions of innocent people around the world.
Check out the video below for more details:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/massoudhassani/mine-kafon-drone?ref=dfg&token=4a3c87bf