The biosensor, or artificial dog nose, which identifies mines has now a new and civilian owner, Biosensor Applications Sweden AB, based in Orebro. The company has considerably strengthened its financial resources, currently by 5 million US dollars, and intends to raise further capital on the stock exchange

Westander, Henrik

English

James Madison University

Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction Volume 2 Issue 3 The Journal of Mine Action Article 7 October 1998 Biosensor Applications Henrik Westander Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal  Part of the Defense and Security Studies Commons, Emergency and Disaster Management Commons, Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons, and the Peace and Conflict Studies Commons Recommended Citation Westander, Henrik (1998) "Biosensor Applications," Journal of Mine Action : Vol. 2 : Iss. 3 , Article 7. Available at: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal/vol2/iss3/7 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery at JMU Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction by an authorized editor of JMU Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact dc_admin@jmu.edu.    Biosensor Applications Henrik Westander  Arms trade researcher and freelance journalist Issue 2.3 | October 1998 | Information in this issue may be out of date. Click here tolink to the most recent issue.The biosensor, or artificial dog nose, which identifies mines has now a new andcivilian owner, Biosensor Applications Sweden AB, based in Orebro. The companyhas considerably strengthened its financial resources, currently by 5 million USdollars, and intends to raise further capital on the stock exchange. Bofors, the arms company, started development of the biosensor in 1995. Investingabout 5 million US dollars, within two years the company quickly developed the firstprototype. In this prototype, an apparatus collects 100 litres of air which are thenconcentrated to a drop of water. The biosensor then "sniffs" the drop to tell whether itcontains explosives. Finally, a computer gives the results. Biosensor Applications plans to have a second generation prototype ready in 1999,which will then be subjected to extensive testing and verification. The prototype canidentify TNT, the explosive in by far the most anti­personnel mines in the world. "There are many mine fields where it is known that all the mines contain TNT," saysLennart Wetterholm who is responsible for a project with Swedish mine dogs inCambodia. "Equipment which can smell out TNT would be a great help," he adds. During the autumn of 1998, Biosensor Applications intends to pursue developmentof the capacity of the biosensor to also identify the explosives RDX and PETN. Thiswould increase its serviceability considerably. United Nations mine clearance work focuses increasingly on "area reduction" (i.e., toidentify mine­free areas and at the same time demarcate the real minefields). Mine dogs are very useful but have drawbacks. The dogs must be trained, they canmake mistakes and they can work for only a short period at a time. This is where theartificial dog nose comes in­­equipment which can be used round the clock and withfalling production costs. The biosensor is estimated to cost around 30,000 USdollars. Biosensor Applications have begun cooperation with the mine clearance companyMechem in South Africa, but the system will also be available for purchase by NonGovernmental Organizations (NGO) and governments. "I think this project is very promising," says Staffan Abrahamsson of the SwedishDefence Research Establishment, FOA. 1Westander: Biosensor ApplicationsPublished by JMU Scholarly Commons, 1998Abrahamsson is participating in a project at FOA to develop a complete mineclearance system, a multisensor, where the artificial dog nose is one of theingredients. "If they succeed with the dog nose it will be an enormous break­through," saysAbrahamsson. His opinion is shared by Bjarne Haugstad, research chief of the Norwegian DefenceResearch Department, FFI. "The project has excellent prospects of leading to a minedetector; they are working very purposefully," says Haugstad. It is an advantage that the company is wholly civilian. Sweden's largest peaceorganisation, The Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society, intends to become ashareholder in the company and to support its work. Biosensors technology can also be used to detect narcotics and the kinds ofexplosives which may be used by terrorists at airports, for example. Theseapplications will probably be more lucrative for the company. But the first artificialdog nose is designed to identify mines.    2Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction, Vol. 2, Iss. 3 [1998], Art. 7https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal/vol2/iss3/7

Biosensor Applications

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Biosensor Applications

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