------------------------------------------------------ Workshop on anti-personnel mines detection and removal ------------------------------------------------------ Lausanne, Switzerland, Friday June 30, Saturday July 1 Conference topics ----------------- TNT molecules sensors (biosensor, temperature sensors, antibodies) Buried objects sensors (ultrasound, thermal imaging, impulse radar) Other mechanisms for detecting mines (prodding, plant coloration) Autonomous and semi-autonomous robots Sensor fusion, filtering, data contrast enhancement Program committee ----------------- Dr. P. Beuthner, Deutsche Aerospace, Ulm Prof. M. Göpel, Inst Physikalische Chemie, Uni Tübingen Dr. A. Grisel, MicroSens, Neuchâtel Dr. Chr. Gerber, IBM Rüschlikon Dr. H. Lok, Defense Research Establishment, Linköping Dr. Chr. Pichot, CNRS Valbonne Dr. A. Sieber, Joint Research Center, Ispra Prof H. Vogel, Chimie physique, EPFL Local organization ------------------ Prof J.D. Nicoud, LAMI, EPFL, CH-1015 Lasanne, Fax +41 21 693-2642 Objectives of the workshop -------------------------- About one hundred million of anti-personnel mines are buried in the ground of forty countries. They kill or maim 800 civilians per month and prevent the return to farming of vast areas of land. Demining activities, performed by hand, are supported by several humanitarian organizations, at an estimated cost of US$800 per mine found. Modern anti-personnel mines include only a very small amount of metal. They contain 10 to 200g of TNT, RDX, PETN, etc. They have been carefully buried or dispersed by helicopters and stay active for ten or more years. Vegetation, winds and water displace and cover them. Prodding the ground is presently the only reliable method for being sure to remove all the mines in a given area. Dogs have been used with success, but they are very expensive and quickly get tired. They however prove the efficiency of good odor detectors. Besides the many ways of detecting individual molecules of nitrous components (antibodies, biosensors, temperature reactions, gas chromatography, ion mobility spectrometry), other solutions are possible: X-ray tomography, synthetic aperture radars, impulse radars, thermal imaging, neutron activation. Indirect effects such as TNT action on some plant coloration or growth have to be explored. Adequate processing and sensor fusion will be required in most cases for improving the significance and reliability of the data. The main purpose of the workshop will be to provide a forum of exchange between researchers, allowing for the comparison of the performance and cost of the proposed solutions. Developing an efficient set of sensors, vehicles and processing facilities, is the short term objective the Minerat Association plans to support with adequate funding. Preliminary Programme --------------------- FRIDAY JUNE 30 9h30 Registration, coffee 10h00 Opening Session 1 - Mining and demining 10h10 Moore's Law in the Minefield - J. Walker, Megalon, Switzerland 10h35 Humanitarian Mine Clearence Equipment Requirements - J.A. Craib, Baric Consultants, Sandwich, UK 11h00 Mine Countermeasures for Humanitarian Mine Clearance - G. Lucas, Bactec Intnl, Rochester, UK 11h30 Humanitarian, military and scientific interests in demining Panel with G. Cauderey (CICR Geneva), H.Hambric (US Dept of Defense Fort Belvoir), D. von der Weid (Antenna Geneva) 12h30 Lunch Session 2 - Sensors I 14h00 Mine Detection and Demining from an Operator's Perspective - J.A. Craib, Baric Consultants, Sandwich, UK 14h30 Detection of Buried Landmines using Ground Penetrating Radar and a Metal Detector - first Results of Field Experiments - M. Fritzsche et al., Daimler-Benz AG, Ulm, Germany 15h00 A Multi-Sensor System for Demining - R. Garriott et al., GDE Systems, San Diego 15h30 Coffee break Session 3 - Demining robots 16h00 Pemex-B, a Low Cost Robot for Searching Anti-Personnel Mines - J.D. Nicoud et al., LAMI-EPFL, Lausanne 16h30 Requirements for Robotics in Explosive Ordnance Disposal Operations in Tropical and Desert Areas - G. Velez et al., ACSA, Meyreuil, France 17h00 Requirements for robots and sensors Panel discussion 18h30 Demo of the Pemex-BE on the lake side, followed by an informal dinner SATURDAY JULY 1ST Session 4 - Sensors II 9h30 ODIS: Ordnance Detection and Identification System - C. Borgwardt, Dornier GmbH, Friedrischafen, Germany 10h00 Smart Sensor Modules for Operator Assistance of Teleoperated Mobile Robots - J. Dahlkemper et al., Fraunhofer-Inst. for Manufacturing Eng. and Automation (IPA), Stuttgart, Germany 10h30 State of Knowledge in Europe on Detecting Anti-personnel Mines - A.J. Sieber, EC Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy 11h00 Chemical and bio sensors Panel with H. Vogel (EPFL), A. Grisel (Microsens Neuchâtel), ... 12h Lunch Session 5 - GPR Sensors 13h30 Landmine Detection and Imaging using Micropower Impulse Radar - S.G. Azevedo et al., Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Ca USA 14h00 Ground Probing Radar - a Technology ready for Mine Detection Equipment Development - R.J. Chignell, EMRAD Ltd, Godalming, UK 14h30 Design Challenges for ultra Wideband Radar for AP Mine Detection - D.J. Daniels, ERA Technology Ltd, Leatherhead, UK 15h00 Microwave Diffraction Tomography of Buried Objects - C. Pichot et al., Universiti de Nice-Sophia Antipolis, Valbonne, France 15h30 Plans for action Panel discussion 16h30 Closing ---------------------------------------------------------- Organization: Prof J.D. Nicoud, LAMI-EPFL, E-mail nicoud@di.epfl.ch Secretariat: Monique Dubois, LAMI-EPFL, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland Tel +41 21 693-6635, Fax +41 21 693-5263 E-mail dubois@di.epfl.ch