Design of a training tool for improving the use of hand-held detectors in humanitarian demining

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to introduce the design of a training tool intended to improve deminers' technique during close-in detection tasks. Design/methodology/approach - Following an introduction that highlights the impact of mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and the importance of training for enhancing the safety and the efficiency of the deminers, this paper considers the utilization of a sensory tracking system to study the skill of the hand-held detector expert operators. With the compiled information, some critical performance variables can be extracted, assessed, and quantified, so that they can be used afterwards as reference values for the training task. In a second stage, the sensory tracking system is used for analysing the trainee skills. The experimentation phase aims to test the effectiveness of the elements that compose the sensory system to track the hand-held detector during the training sessions. Findings - The proposed training tool will be able to evaluate the deminers' efficiency during the scanning tasks and will provide important information for improving their competences. Originality/value - This paper highlights the need of introducing emerging technologies for enhancing the current training techniques for deminers and proposes a sensory tracking system that can be successfully utilised for evaluating trainees' performance with hand-held detectors. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.The authors acknowledge funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007‐2013 TIRAMISU) under Grant Agreement No. 284747 and partial funding under Robocity2030 S‐0505/DPI‐0176 and FORTUNA A1/039883/11 (Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo – AECID). Dr Roemi Fernández acknowledges support from CSIC under grant JAE‐DOC. Dr Héctor Montes acknowledges support from Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá and from CSIC under grant JAE‐DOC.Peer Reviewe

Design of a training tool for improving the use of hand-held detectors in humanitarian demining

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce the design of a training tool intended to improve deminers' technique during close-in detection tasks. Design/methodology/approach – Following an introduction that highlights the impact of mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and the importance of training for enhancing the safety and the efficiency of the deminers, this paper considers the utilization of a sensory tracking system to study the skill of the hand-held detector expert operators. With the compiled information, some critical performance variables can be extracted, assessed, and quantified, so that they can be used afterwards as reference values for the training task. In a second stage, the sensory tracking system is used for analysing the trainee skills. The experimentation phase aims to test the effectiveness of the elements that compose the sensory system to track the hand-held detector during the training sessions. Findings – The proposed training tool will be able to evaluate the deminers' efficiency during the scanning tasks and will provide important information for improving their competences. Originality/value – This paper highlights the need of introducing emerging technologies for enhancing the current training techniques for deminers and proposes a sensory tracking system that can be successfully utilised for evaluating trainees' performance with hand-held detectors

Evaluation of a Sensory Tracking System for Hand-held Detectors in Outdoor Conditions

This paper presents the experimental results obtained throughout the outdoor testing of a sensory tracking system specifically designed as part of a training tool for improving the utilisation of hand-held detectors. The proposed system is able to acquire information in two different scenarios: when the expert’s skills are studied in order to quantify some critical performance variables and when the deminers’ performance is evaluated during the close- in-detection training tasks, in order to give the operator significant feedback for improving their competences. Additionally to previously studied variables such as the safety distance to advance the detector search-head on each sweep, the sweep velocity, the scan height, the inclination of the hand-held detector head with respect to the ground and the coverage area, a special emphasis related to the geo-referencing of the hand-held detector head in real-time is provided.This paper presents the experimental results obtained throughout the outdoor testing of a sensory tracking system specifically designed as part of a training tool for improving the utilisation of hand-held detectors. The proposed system is able to acquire information in two different scenarios: when the expert’s skills are studied in order to quantify some critical performance variables and when the deminers’ performance is evaluated during the close- in-detection training tasks, in order to give the operator significant feedback for improving their competences. Additionally to previously studied variables such as the safety distance to advance the detector search-head on each sweep, the sweep velocity, the scan height, the inclination of the hand-held detector head with respect to the ground and the coverage area, a special emphasis related to the geo-referencing of the hand-held detector head in real-time is provided

TIRAMISU European Project: Design and Implementation of Tools for Humanitarian Demining

This paper presents the most relevant results of the work done within the framework of TIRAMISU European project (Toolbox Implementation for Removal of Anti-personnel Mines, Submunitions and UXO), by the Centre for Automation and Robotics CAR (CSIC-UPM). This project has been funded by European Union within the Seventh Framework Programme of R&D. In general, the works carried out during this project, currently in effect, have been the design and development of tools for training in search of landmines and other for locating anti-personnel landmines, such as: design and validation of e-tutors for land impact and non-Technical Survey tools, and landmines identification for training of trainee, who will collaborate in humanitarian demining tasks; design and implementation of a training tool to be used with compact metal detectors; design, implementation and evaluation of an intelligent prodder training tool for close-in detection of buried landmines; development of a semi-autonomous and teleoperated system for search and detection of anti-personnel mines, which consists of a hexapod robot and a scanning manipulator arm, that carries a metal detector at its end-effector.This project has been funded by European Union within the Seventh Framework Programme of R&D.Peer reviewe

Evaluating a Pattern-Based Visual Support Approach for Humanitarian Landmine Clearance

Unexploded landmines have severe post-conflict humanitarian repercussions: landmines cost lives, limbs and land. For deminers engaged in humanitarian landmine clearance, metal detectors remain the primary detection tool as more sophisticated technologies fail to get adopted due to restrictive cost, low reliability, and limited robustness. Metal detectors are, however, of limited effectiveness, as modern landmines contain only minimal amounts of metal, making them difficult to distinguish from the ubiquitous but harmless metallic clutter littering post-combat areas. We seek to improve the safety and efficiency of the demining process by developing support tools that will enable deminers to make better decisions using feedback from existing metal detectors. To this end, in this paper we propose and evaluate a novel, pattern-based visual support approach inspired by the documented strategies employed by expert deminers. In our laboratory study, participants provided with a prototype of our support tool were 80% less likely to mistake a mine for harmless clutter. A follow-up study demonstrates the potential of our pattern-based approach to enable peer decision-making support during landmine clearance. Lastly, we identify several design opportunities for further improving deminers' decision making capabilities.Engineering and Applied Science

Mine Action: Lessons and Challenges

Mine Action: Lessons and Challenges represents the views of selected experts as to what some of the key lessons have been, and what challenges remain for the future. Following an Executive Summary of its main conclusions and findings, this work is laid out in two parts. Part I looks at the core activities — the “pillars” — of mine action: advocacy, victim assistance, mine risk education, demining (survey, marking and clearance of mines and unexploded ordnance) and stockpile destruction. Part II looks at key management issues, specifically, programme coordination and management, information management and capacity development. This work concludes with a thought-provoking assessment of what mine action has actually achieved

Guidebook on Detection Technologies and Systems for Humanitarian Demining

The aim of this publication is to provide the mine action community, and those supporting mine action, with a consolidated review and status summary of detection technologies that could be applied to humanitarian demining operations. This Guidebook is meant to provide information to a wide variety of readers. For those not familiar with the spectrum of technologies being considered for the detection of landmines and for area reduction, there is a brief overview of the principle of operation for each technology as well as a summary listing of the strengths, limitations, and potential for use of the technology to humanitarian demining. For those with an intermediate level of understanding for detection technologies, there is information regarding some of the more technical details of the system to give an expanded overview of the principles involved and hardware development that has taken place. Where possible, technical specifications for the systems are provided. For those requiring more information for a particular system, relevant publications lists and contact information are also provided

The Journal of ERW and Mine Action Issue 10.1 (2006)

Feature: Explosive Remnants of War | Focus: Africa | Profiles | Making it Personal | Notes from the Field | Research and Developmen