Canadian landmine detection research program

摘要

Defence R&D Canada (DRDC), an agency within the Department of National Defence, has been conducting research and development (R&D) on the detection of landmines for countermine operations and of unexploded ordnance (UXO) for range clearance since 1975. The Canadian Centre for Mine Action Technologies (CCMAT), located at DRDC Suffield, was formed in 1998 to carry out R&D related to humanitarian demining. The lead group responsible for formulating and executing both countermine and humanitarian R&D programs in detection is the Threat Detection Group at DRDC Suffield. This paper describes R&D for both programs under the major headings of remote minefield detection, close-in scanning detection, confirmation detection and teleoperated systems. Among DRDC's achievements in landmine and UXO detection R&D are pioneering work in electromagnetic and magnetic identification and classification; the first military-fielded multisensor, teleoperated vehicle-mounted landmine detection system; pioneering use of confirmation detectors for multisensor landmine detection systems; the first fielded thermal neutron activation landmine confirmation sensor; the first detection of landmines using a real-time hyperspectral imager; electrical impedance imaging detection of landmines and UXO and a unique neutron backscatter landmine imager.