Mine Detection

"The objective of this proposal is to determine whether or not the modeling of buried mines, along with local environment measurements, can ever be used to predict successful IR sensor mine detection. Field experiments have often resulted in outstanding IRimagery of buried mines. Sophisticated detection algorithms have been developed to take advantage of this imagery. What continues to be lacking is a way to predict in-the-field utility so that the IR can be relied on tactically. After a mission it is easyto say one would have done well (or not done well) to use IR. A potential solution problem is the use of thermal models of the buried mine, combined with measurement of the terrain/weather, to predict for a relatively short time (hours or days) whenoperations should be carried out that rely on or could best benefit from the speed and standoff of IR. Some recent efforts along these lines have shown promise, but no one has yet determined the true feasibility of this approach. Using an instrumentedtarget, terrain, and weather data collection set, this proposal will analyze 5 months of round-the-clock data in an attempt to help answer the IR feasibility question. The global landmine crisis is one of the most pervasive problems facing the world today.It is estimated that there are between 60 and 70 million landmines in the ground in 70 countries. The widespread employment of landmines threatens to neutralize an army's high technical advan