Autonomous Mine Sweeping System Using Image Processing

The Mine Sweeping System is being developed for the sole purpose of efficiently detecting mines within a user defined area .It comprises of a Java application from the user end and a robot grid system which work together to form a fully automated, optimized and efficient system. The Server (i.e. the application) and the Robots communicate with each other through wireless transmission and at no point of time any human contact with the robot system is required. The Server Application is provided to administer the entire mine detection process. The optical flow vector result, Robot Alignment result and virtual map of the location of the robots are received on the Server Computer. Database results of previously searched locations are made available to user. These database results are then used to optimize future mine sweeping processes through a modified LRU Algorithm. The Robot System is mounted with a camera and uses a Self Navigating algorithm with Obstacle Avoidance implemented using Optical Flow. The optical flow generated within the surroundings of the robot is registered using the on board camera and using Image Processing and Vector Calculations the Time to Contact (in case of obstacle avoidance) or Tracking (in case of aligning algorithm) is obtained. The robots function within a selfgenerated virtual grid and a real time map of the mine sweeping operation is provided on the Server system. The robots calculate the shortest path within the grid while searching and sweeping the mines. The robots also communicate with each other using Swarm technology in order to complete the task. The Autonomous Mine Detection System is developed for the following reasons:  Human interaction involved in the process is minimized.  The task is performed at a higher efficiency rate.  A practical solution for Self Alignment of an autonomous system is developed.  The Robot system features obstacle avoidance using the most efficient method.  User is provided with added functionality and the entire system is made to benefit user functionality.  This System will reduce the overall time complexity of the mine detection process.