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Portuguese Coimbra University develops technology to detect mines

Xinhua, February 11, 2015 Adjust font size:

Researchers from the University of Coimbra in Portugal are developing technology to detect mines and other explosive devices as part of a European Union (EU) project involving 26 partners, the university said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

The team participating in the project is from the University of Coimbra's Systems and Robotics Institute (ISR) as part of the TIRAMISU (Toolbox Implementation for Removal of Anti-personnel Mines, Submunitions and Uxo) project, which has EU funding worth 15 million euros (about 17 million U.S. dollars).

The funding will allow the project to develop "a set of advanced technologies for detecting mines and other explosive devices to help deal with the serious worldwide problem of de-mining," the statement said.

The researchers in Coimbra, 175 km north of capital city of Lisbon, are already testing an adapted de-mining robot provided to the university by Canadian company Clearpath Robotics, following an international competition to seek out the best 10 entries out 150 submissions.

The robot was adapted with "a robotic arm that makes it possible to sweep the ground with mine detection sensors, such as metal detectors and ground-penetration radars," said the team's coordinator Lino Marques.

To make the robot more autonomous, the team "added a number of different sensors such as artificial vision cameras and laser sensors to measure distance, as well as artificial intelligence software, which makes it possible to understand the information from those sensors and to make decisions about the de-mining task, without human intervention," Marques said.

There are an estimated 110 million land mines in over 70 countries across the world, according to Coimbra University, and developing autonomous robotic de-mining equipment is expected to save thousands of lives every year.

The TIRAMISU project is coordinated by the Belgian Royal Military Academy and involves 25 partners from Europe, one from Japan, including non-governmental organizations and private companies, the University of Coimbra said. Endit