Testing and Evaluating Results of Research in Mine Action

This chapter summarizes the experience of the Royal Military Academy in testing and evaluating new tools for mine action. It first underscores the importance of testing and evaluating new methods in general and in mine action in particular. Some recommendations are given to help the design of test protocols: defining carefully the objectives of the test and what is to be measured, the importance of blind and double‐blind tests, choosing between realism and statistical relevance, the importance of how to display the results, etc. These recommendations are illustrated by real‐life examples, mainly from test and evaluation of detectors of mines in which RMA has been involved. A test protocol is detailed. It is the one that RMA designed and used to evaluate a detector that was proven to be useless and that led to the criminal conviction of its designer in the United Kingdom. Sources of available test protocols and test reports are also listed

Positioning System for a Hand-Held Mine Detector

Humanitarian mine clearance aims at reducing the nuisance of regions infected by explosive devices. These devices need to be detected with a high rate of success while keeping a low false alarm rate to reduce time losses and personnel’s fatigue. This chapter describes a positioning system developed to track hand-held detector movements in the context of close-range mine detection. With such a system, the signals captured by the detector over time can be used to build two- or three-dimensional data. The objects possibly present in the data can then be visually appreciated by an operator to detect specific features such as shape or size or known signatures. The positioning system developed in the framework of the HOPE European project requires only a camera and an extra bar. It adds few constraints to current mine clearance procedures and requires limited additional hardware. The software developed for calibration and continuous acquisition of the position is described, and evaluation results are presented

Research at RMA in the Evolving Context of Mine Action

The purpose of this chapter is to put the research of the Royal Military Academy (RMA) in mine action in a historical perspective by providing some background information. The vocabulary used in mine action and the landmine contamination problem are first presented. Formalisation of close‐in detection and of area reduction is then proposed. An overview of the research projects, the involved partners and the objectives as well as the list of PhDs performed at RMA are then provided. The chapter ends with an overview of the book and their link with the cited projects

TIRAMISU Final Technology Demonstration at SEDEE-DOVO

On 24 September 2015, and in the presence of Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid of Belgium, the Royal Military Academy of Belgium (RMA) organized a demonstration for mine action tools in Meerdael, Belgium. At the Belgian EOD battalion premises of SEDEE-DOVO, RMA presented technology developed under the TIRAMISU project, which was co-funded by the European Union and coordinated by RMA. Designed by twenty-six different organizations, the tools covered multiple elements of mine action, including survey, operation and validation, information management, mine risk education (MRE), close-in-detection, and personnel protective equipment (PPE). Organizers held inside and outside demonstrations as well as discussions of the tools developed throughout the four-year project

Remote Sensing for Non‐Technical Survey

This chapter describes the research activities of the Royal Military Academy on remote sensing applied to mine action. Remote sensing can be used to detect specific features that could lead to the suspicion of the presence, or absence, of mines. Work on the automatic detection of trenches and craters is presented here. Land cover can be extracted and is quite useful to help mine action. We present here a classification method based on Gabor filters. The relief of a region helps analysts to understand where mines could have been laid. Methods to be a digital terrain model from a digital surface model are explained. The special case of multi‐spectral classification is also addressed in this chapter. Discussion about data fusion is also given. Hyper‐spectral data are also addressed with a change detection method. Synthetic aperture radar data and its fusion with optical data have been studied. Radar interferometry and polarimetry are also addressed

Analysis of the possibility of employing 3D printing technology in crisis situations

Events related to climate change and the increase in the occurrence of natural disasters, as well as the increasing incidence of new diseases, have all caused the prominence of regional security and crisis management around the world to rise. Three-dimensional printing, which has seen noteworthy developed in recent years, both in terms of print parameters, and the magnitude of the production potential, may prove helpful in this matter. Enormous opportunities have arisen which, if properly directed, can save human life and preserve health in crisis situations, when traditional supply chains could be disrupted or even prevented. The use of additive technologies, however, has its limitations and in order to be able to take full advantage of the opportunities they offer, a legitimate functional system should be created and embedded within proper structures to support crisis management. This paper presents the advantages and disadvantages of using 3D printers and the possibility of their implementation as part of the current crisis-response systems. The article proposes a model for incorporating additive technologies into the crisis-management system

Les fosses à profil en V et Y dans le Nord-Pas-de-Calais

Des fouilles récentes dans la région Nord-Pas-de-Calais ont révélé des habitats attribués à l’Âge du Bronze. C’est essentiellement à partir de ces données nouvelles que nous abordons la question des fosses à profil en « V, W, Y ». Le site d’Achicourt « Le Fort » (Lorin et alii, 2008b) a été rapidement rattaché à cette thématique, puis associé aux résultats de la fouille récente de Marœuil « Rue Curie » (Lorin et alii, à paraître) qui proposait des données analogues. La révision globale de la ..