Land Mine Detector Makes Waves

摘要

Exciting a land mine may not sound like a good idea, but developers of the Seismic Landmine Detection System are doing just that. A group of researchers from the Georgia Tech Research Institute in Atlanta, Georgia, has developed a land mine detection system that sends seismic waves through a minefield, slightly moving the earth and items buried beneath. A noncontacting radar sensor measures the ground displacement to identify and locate plastic anti-personnel or antitank mines. Waymond R. Scott Jr., professor, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), and one of the principal investigators of the system, describes how the technology works as similar to dropping a pebble in a pond. "When the pebble hits the water, the wave will radiate out from that spot in little rings," he explains. "If there was something right under the water's surface, those waves would change as they go over that object."