Current results are presented on the research and development of the advanced humanitarian landmine detection system by using a compact discharge-type fusion neutron source called IECF (Inertial-Electrostatic Confinement fusion) devices. A water-jacketed IEC device(IEC20C) of a 20 cm inner diameter is operated to produce 10 neutrons/s stably in CW mode for 80 kV and 80 mA. Ample 10.8 MeV γ rays...

We introduce a combination of high-dimensional analysis of variance (HANOVA) and sequential probability ratio test (SPRT) to detect buried objects from an array ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveying a region of interest in a progressive manner. Using HANOVA, we exploit the transient characteristic of GPR signals in the time domain to extract information about buried objects at xed positions ...

The best way to find buried ordnance (e.g., landmines) is to detect the explosive packaged inside. This expedient would eliminate detection of the ground clutter, such as shrapnel and stray metal fragments, that produce the great number of false positive signals and which slow down detection rates to unacceptable levels. The detection of the explosive is essentially what trained dogs do as they...

MIMO array can obtain much more equivalent elements by using a small number of transmitters and receivers. However, according to traditional sampling theorem, a certain number of transmitters and receivers are still needed to obtain a dense equivalent array. Since the interesting targets of ground penetrating radar (GPR) are usually sparse, this paper presents a spare MIMO array GPR imaging sch...

Broadband frequency-domain electromagnetic sensors can be used not only to detect but also to characterize and identify a particular mineral deposit based on its spectral response. The concept is similar to identifying a particular landmine based on its unique spectral response, which is known as Electromagnetic Induction Spectroscopy (EMIS). Recent advances in single-coil, broadband sensors ha...

The complexity associated to Humanitarian Demining becomes very high due to its broad set of activities, which beyond the already complex of landmine removal, includes other socio-economic supporting activities. Hence, more complex computer based supporting systems are required. The main goal of this article is to describe potential applications of multi-agent systems to the Humanitarian Demini...

Since the human eye is insensitive to polarization, there is a large amount of information in many situations, which is not readily utilized. Measuring the polarization state of light is useful in many research fields including biology, chemistry, astronomy and remote sensing. The first portion of the paper discusses the simple application of accurately measuring the retardance value and fast a...

We demonstrate that objects buried in sand (1 to 4 mm deep) may be selectively imaged according to their chemical composition through spectral analysis of the laser-induced breakdown signal. The signal is generated by loosely focused femtosecond laser pulses having energies ranging from 0.5 to 2.5 mJ. We determine the depth from which a spectral signal may be measured as a function of pulse ene...

An estimated 110 million landmines, mostly antipersonnel mines laid in over 60 countries, kill or maim over 26 000 people a year. One of the dilemmas for removing landmines is the amount of false alarms in a typical minefield. Broadband electromagnetic induction spectroscopy (EMIS) is a promising technology that can both detect and identify buried objects as landmines. By reducing the number of...

This paper takes the unusual stance of stepping back from the full automation of a heavy duty robot vehicle, capable of operating in outdoor rough terrain environments, to consider teleoperation within the context of sensor rich data presented unambiguously to the operator at a safe, stationary workstation site. Whilst complete sensory immersion is not attempted, the quality and overlapping mod...