Drone Mine-Detector Could Rid the World of Land Mines
War-torn regions of the world are known for having sizable amounts of landmine explosives lying around. These landmines were and are tools used during periods of war and unrests.
Sadly, after relative peace has been achieved in such regions, these landmines end up being abandoned and forgotten, leading to deaths of countless number of people.
According to a report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), landmines are still in over 60 countries. These explosives post the greatest risks to security personnel and communities around the world.
UNESCO also reported that since 1975, more than 0ne million children, women and men have died or have been maimed permanently by exploding landmines, of which 80% of the victims were civilians.
Landmines and other explosive hazards kill or injure thousands of people across the world, every year, and the level of human suffering due to these mines have been devastating.
Statistics from UNESCO shows that each year about Twenty-six thousand people are maimed. Also statistics from surveys show that anti-personnel mines are about 10 million in Afghanistan. Angola has 9 million; Cambodia follows 4 million anti-personnel mines; Mozambique, Sudan and Somalia each have 2 million. Eritrea and Ethiopia have 1 million each.
Removal of Landmines
The UN also estimates that the cost of removing landmines from the world is 50 times more than the cost of production.
In the last 20 years, the removal of landmines made great progress. But ongoing internal conflicts in some regions have pushed back the fight against landmines in recent years, by increasing its use. This has led to the damaging and isolation of civilizations in such conflict and war-torn regions.
With the present conventional means of demining any location filled with landmines, human deminers are always utilised. The human deminers are also at a risk of exposure to the explosives, as any error in judgement or mistake in the process of physically demining an area could be very fatal to the deminer.
However, with the new technology invented by Massoud Hassani, drones which are automated and can be controlled go into the rigourous mine-filled areas, detect the exact locations of the mines, and safely carry out the demining process, with no physical presence of a human deminer involved.
The Mine Kafon Drone (MKD)
In a bid to rapidly diminish and depreciate the level of landmines globally, some high and advanced level of technology has been courted in recent years to see how hasten the removal of landmines without physical presence of human ‘deminers’.
A drone technology known as the MKD tech, which was created by Massoud Hassani, hopes to become the ideal tool to rid the world of the chronic issue of landmine explosives.
Presentation
The drone tech, Mine Kafon Drone (MKD) was presented in Netherlands to the Queen Maxima at a Singularity Expo in Eindhoven.
The inventor of the drone tech, Massoud Hassani said that the MKD technology would in 10 years, potentially rid the world of the landmines which has claimed so many innocent civilian lives.
Speaking further on his technology at a TED talk in Hamburg recently, Massoud Hassani stated that the MKD has the greatest humanitarian mission of any tech invention, and that is to clear land mines easily, cheaply and safely throughout the globe.
Massoud Hassani who was born in Afghanistan moved to the Netherlands for a better life. He was inspired for his invention, by the homemade wind-powered toys he developed in Afghanistan during his childhood. The Mine Kafon Drone detector was created as part of his graduation project in 2011.
How does the MKD drone work?
The Mine Kafon Drone detector functions by adopting three basic methodologies:
- Mapping
- Detection and;
- Destroying the landmines
It makes use of six rotors and three different attachments to carry out its three-prong functionality.
- The drone first starts by flying over a whole landmine infested field.
- It then uses its aerial 3D mapping system to identify the dangerous spots on the field or land area using a GPS.
- It eventually hovers above the ground surface at an approximate distance of 4cm to enable it detect the landmines.
Any detected mine is geo-tagged on the operators’ system, allowing for an accurate construction of a map of the identified mine locations.
Next, the MKD uses robotic gripping arms to place a small detonator on the detected mines and finally denotes them using a timer from a very safe distance.
The MKD is estimated to be about 200 times cheaper and up to 20 times faster than the conventional de-mining technologies that are presently used. Also, the Mine Kafon Drone detector is safer to operate, as there are no human exposure or direct human contact with the landmines during the whole de-mining operation.
According to Massoud Hassani;
“Mine Kafon is not only an anti-landmine device; it opens a discussion of global awareness”.
About the Inventor
Massoud Hassani, born in 1983 grew up in Qasaba, Kabul in Afghanistan. When he was 5 years old there were several wars going on, at the time. He and his brother Mahmud played every day on fields surrounding the highest mountains in their neighbourhood. They learnt to make their own toys. One of Massoud Hassani’s favourite was a small rolling object that was wind-powered. The knowledge and idea from the childhool toys they made led to his creation of the more sophisticated and technologically advanced MKD system.
20 years later, he went back to Qasaba and made those toys again. It was his graduation project for the Design Academy Eindhoven (2011). He made one which was 20 times bigger, heaver and stronger than his childhood toys. It was powered by the wind, and was created for the same areas which were full of mines as at then, and still are.
Massoud Hassani has received several awards for his brilliant invention. He has been awarded with
- Common Pitch Audiance Awards 2012
- ED Public Awards 2011
- Connecting Ring 2011
- Social Design Awards 2010
He was nominated for
~ The Designs of the Year 2012 by the Design Museum in London
~ Icon Design Of The Year 2012 and;
~ Breakthrough Talent of The Year 2012.
In Summary
The need for this advanced technology to tackle a not-so-popular global issue – Landmines, led to a Kickstarter crowd funding campaign for Massoud Hassani’s MKD Drone, which at the time had a goal of €70,000.
The campaign was supported massively and a massive production phase is about to begin in earnest. A new lab and relocation to a new office in the last couple of months was effected by Massoud Hassani and his current crop of team members.
I sincerely believe that war-torn regions of the world would benefit largely from this technology, especially African nations that have been hit by severe unrest, civil wars leading to an insane number of deaths in recent years.
Support for the MKD technology should be a global affair in order to rid the world of all landmines, for the safety of people around the world and all nations, at large.
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The problem is not the creation of technology to solve. The problem is that the nations are willing to make the cost of these equipment because I imagine that as with human beings explore some and also imagine that they are not cheap at all. As long as they don't cross anyone's interests it will be a success.
You've got a point @cain1914. It might not be a cheap technology to acquire. But then, it shouldn't be a personal item really. It should be for governments of affected regions to acquire it and rid their countries of landmines, in order to keep their citizens safe.
However, i do reckon that we are our own problems on this planet. If we don't create landmines and explosives, then we won't need to have detonators. If we don't create bombs, then we won't need to have bomb disposal units.
We as a specie, are our own problem.
Anything to save the limbs/lives of people living in mine infested region is very much welcomed. Thanks for sharing.
You are right @greenrun. Thanks for visiting.
@rickie post is worth a visit :)
a truly excellent invention. I think this invention is very necessary you can better understand if you watch the 2016 mine film @rickie
Thanks @shankstaicho. I'd try to see the film.
Thank you. :)
very useful device, this makes me happy, without doubts it will save many lives, any step forward that we give as humans must be for a good cause :)