Landmines are still claiming the lives or limbs of around ten people each day. Unless changes are made to the technology used to remove mines, it will take more than 1000 years to clear them all away and would cost about $30 billion. It is made an even more challenging job when considering the location of many of them. They are in developing countries still beset by war.
Now thanks to a team of British scientists there is a drone that could do the job a lot cheaper and also a lot more quickly. British charity Find A Better Way and the University of Bristol are working together on the scheme, and the drone which can cover large areas is both fast and safe to use.
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Hyperspectral imaging techniques are used to pick up on slight irregularities that appear in the vegetation. When there is a landmine, it will affect the way the things above it grows and makes it easier to find out where they have been planted.
Project leader Dr. John Day explained that while the naked eye may not be able to detect how healthy a plant is thanks to infrared technology, it is possible. Chemicals leak into the soil and plants develop abnormalities. The infrared is also capable of detecting man-made objects. Even items that have not been buried can be picked up, and the photographs that the drones take will be used to produce maps of danger zones, therefore alerting ground troops to the dangers.
