2007A Biologically Based Chemo-Sensing UAV for Humanitarian Demining

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2007A Biologically Based Chemo-Sensing UAV for Humanitarian Demining

for Humanitarian Demining

Sergi Bermúdez i Badia1，2; Ulysses Bernardet2; Alexis Guanella1; Pawel Pyk1 & Paul
F.M.J. Verschure2，3
1 Institute of Neuroinformatics， Uni / ETH Zurich， Winterthurerstrasse 190， CH-8057 Zurich， Switzerland &
2 SPECS， Technology Department， Universitat Pompeu Fabra， Ocata 1， 08003， Barcelona， Spain &
3 Institució Catalana de Recerca dEstudis Avançats (ICREA)
Corresponding author E-mail: sergi.bermudez###upf.edu

Abstract: Antipersonnel mines， weapons of cheap manufacture but lethal effect， have a high impact on the
population even decades after the conflicts have finished. Here we investigate the use of a chemo-sensing
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (cUAV) for demining tasks. We developed a blimp based UAV that is equipped with a
broadly tuned metal-thin oxide chemo-sensor. A number of chemical mapping strategies were investigated
including two biologically based localization strategies derived from the moth chemical search that can optimize
the efficiency of the detection and localization of explosives and therefore be used in the demining process.
Additionally， we developed a control layer that allows for both fully autonomous and manual controlled flight， as
well as for the scheduling of a fleet of cUAVs. Our results confirm the feasibility of this technology for demining
in real-world scenarios and give further support to a biologically based approach where the understanding of
biological systems is used to solve difficult engineering problems.
Keywords: UAV， demining， autonomous control， localization， biologically based， chemosensing

1. Introduction

During wars and even many years after their end， one of
the longest lasting effects for the civil population is the
one caused by antipersonnel mines， cluster bombs and
other explosive devices that remain active even decades
after the conflict has ended. These weapons， usually
simple and cheap to manufacture， are widely used and
are very easy to deploy over large areas. As a
consequence， there are about 100 million active
landmines distributed across areas of previous conflicts
that cause unintended injury to more than 26，000 people a
year (Gooneratne， 2004). Landmines have a high negative
economical， medical and social impact on the local
population and their removal is costly， highly time
consuming and extremely dangerous. Yet demining is a
necessary step for the affected populations to recover.
In order to tackle this problem we believe that three
complementary and parallel research areas have to be
considered: Firstly， a robotic platform has to be
developed that is suitable to work in human non-
area， or when it is urgently required to transport
humanitarian aid through potentially mined areas.

1.1. Conventional methods presently used
Manual demining is still the most broadly used method
for landmine detection and neutralization (Habib， 2002;
OMalley， 1993). Its effectivity depends essentially on the
sensor technology used， ranging from metal detectors，
electromagnetic， acoustic and seismic methods to
biological sensors and the properties of the target mine
(see Bruschini et al. (1998) and Gooneratne et al. (2004) for
review).
Mine clearing machines are usually military devices
specially adapted to unearth and detonate explosives.
These devices cause enormous environmental damage
and do not achieve the same accuracy as manual
demining (Habib， 2002). Alternatively， to assist operators，
many robotic platforms have been developed， from
legged robots to helicopters (Gonzalez de Santos， 2002;
Marques， 2002; Nicoud， 1995; Santana， 2005). However，
the robot based solutions usually show worse