Humanitarian demining: path planning and remote robotic sweeping

Humanitarian demining is addressed as an engineering‐driven duty, aiming at optimal price/effectiveness figures, joining low‐cost robotics and flexible automation. The mine sweeping is highly dangerous task, and safety is sought by automatic rigs, with remote steering and control. The small price is achieved with resort to locally available equipment, technology and know‐how.

The robotic solutions are split at three levels: the mobility enabler, exploiting standard agricultural machinery; the demining outfits, specialising cheap end‐effectors; the robot path planner, exploring reliable remote govern options. The approach aims at the pace‐wise deployment of consistent rigs with assessed productivity and tiny investment.

The paper explores basic ideas to modify common agricultural machines, placing in front proper effectors and specifying the guidelines needed to choose both carriers and suitable demining tools. The remote command logic of the suggested demining strategy is then outlined, specifying the communication and instrumentation for the case study. Finally, the warning/emergency occurrences management is described.

The ensuing robotic equipment joins the remote‐command abilities, with safe and reliable management of dangerous tasks and emergency healing, to the technological appropriateness (shared know‐how and commitment) and the price tag fitness (on‐place device availability). The final set‐up grants dramatic up‐grading, as compared with the current demining practice.

Unmanned mine‐clearing is presently a sophisticated accomplishment of the industrialised countries' armies. By the prospected methods/fixtures, the technical/economic feasibility of the practice is shown to be practicable in third‐world countries.