Landmine Neutralization: Air Excavator

The Landmine Neutralization team’s goal is to help neutralize dangerous ordnance in wartorn areas around the world. To accomplish this, the project team is working with our client, the HALO Trust. They are the world’s largest demining non-governmental organization. The HALO Trust works in many countries to remove the debris of war, including improvised explosive devices, landmines, and unexploded ordnance. We are helping our client achieve their goals through designing, prototyping, and testing of an earth and debris excavator that uses air to excavate areas. This project will help HALO’s deminers clear debris and dust from war-torn areas to help in their effort of neutralizing potential improvised explosive devices and unexploded ordnance. The team found that even though there is commercially available excavation equipment, they are either expensive, too big and cumbersome, cannot be remotely operated and integrated into an excavator, or lack the precision. We will be focusing on designing our prototype to operate reliably in harsh environments while fulfilling our client’s specifications for the excavation unit. Our client requested us to design our excavation unit to be easily installed onto their Volvo full-size excavators and their custom-made rakes.https://mosaic.messiah.edu/engr2020/1001/thumbnail.jp