Alternatives for Landmine Detection

At the rate that government and nongovernmental organizations are clearing landmines, it will take 450–500 years to rid the world of them — and that's just if no more are placed. Concerned about the slow pace of demining, the Office of Science and Technology asked RAND to assess potential innovative technologies being explored and to project what type of funding would be required to foster the development of the more promising ones. As all landmine detection methods have strengths and weaknesses in different environments, the authors suggest that the federal government undertake a research and development effort to develop a multisensor mine detection system over the next five to eight years. The system would be based on the algorithmic fusion of data of many sensors, and research generated from this integration could eventually be applied to other sciences as well. Using multiple technologies to locate landmines would result in fewer casualties worldwide and may help restore stability to postconflict regions. In addition to the main report, this book includes 23 papers, written by leading specialists, that individually probe the latest technologies in landmine detection.