7/27/2023 0 Comments Real life minesweeper![]() ![]() Robotics systems in the form of autonomous/teleoperated unmanned ground/aerial vehicles can provide efficient, reliable and safe solutions for the problem of the landmine and UXO contamination. Even if demining efforts remain about the same as they are now, and no new mines are laid, it will take 1100 years to get rid of all the world’s active landmines . These conventional methods make the procedure of removing great numbers of landmines very slow, inefficient, dangerous and costly. For example, the conventional mag-and-flag approach uses metal detectors operated by expert technicians to identify targets, which are then flagged for subsequent digging. The humanitarian demining activities carried out to remove landmines and unexploded ordnances (UXOs) or explosive remnants of war (ERW) from the vast contaminated areas are not on the same level of the problem. 1 Mine, Explosive Remnants of War (WRW) and Cluster Submunition Casualties in 2011. Both Afghanistan and Cambodia could double their agricultural production if land mines were eliminated.įig. Landmines are planted in fields, forests, around wells, water sources, and hydroelectric installations, making these unusable, or usable only at great risk. In many of the most affected areas of the world, agriculture is the mainstay of the economy.In the United States, the rate of amputation is 1 for every 22 000 people. The most common injury associated with land mines is loss of one or more limbs.For humanitarian mine clearing it is obvious that the system must have a detection rate approaching the perfection of 99.6%. For the military, mine detection rates of 80% are accepted since all the military needs are a quick breach in a minefield. ![]() If demining efforts remain about the same as they are now, and no new mines are laid, it will still take 1100 years to get rid of all the world’s active land mines.Until recently, about 100,000 mines were being removed, and about two million more were planted each year.Egypt, Angola, and Iran account for more than 85 per cent of the total number of mine-related casualties in the world each year. The areas most affected by land mines include: Egypt (23 million, mostly in border regions) Angola (9-15 million) Iran (16 million) Afghanistan (about 10 million) Iraq (10 million) China (10 million) Cambodia (up to 10 million) Mozambique (about 2 million) Bosnia (2-3 million) Croatia (2 million) Somalia (up to 2 million in the North) Eritrea (1 million) and Sudan (1 million).Mines create millions of refugees or internally displaced people.However, in some regions, 30 per cent of the victims are women. Overall, about 85 per cent of reported land mine casualties are men, many of whom are soldiers.One deminer is killed and two injured for every 5000 successfully removed mines.Mine and explosive remnant of war casualties occur in every region of the world, causing an estimated 15,000 – 20,000 injuries each year.According to Landmine Monitor, number of landmine and UXO casualties was 11,700 in 20 in 2011.According to the ‘International Campaign to Ban Landmines network’, more than 4,200 people, of whom 42% are children, have been falling victim to landmines and ERWs annually in many of the countries affected by war or in post-conflict situations around the world (Fig.The cost of removing all existing mines would be $50- to $100-billion.Mines cost between $3 and $30, but the cost of removing them is $300 to $1000.An equal amount is in stockpiles waiting to be planted or destroyed. It is estimated that there are 110 million land mines in the ground right now.The following facts reflect the seriousness of this problem: The simplicity and cost-effectiveness of mines are major factors in explaining their widespread use throughout numerous countries that are now faced with dealing with the landmine and explosive remnants of war contamination problem. Paul Jefferson, one of the earliest humanitarian deminers, said “a landmine is the perfect soldier: Ever courageous, never sleeps, never misses”. Source: DIGGER DTR via Wikimedia Commons. ![]()
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