A snake-shaped robot (front) and a spider-shaped robot (back) that are used in landmine clearance work in Afghanistan. (Jiji)

Landmines exist in many parts of the world, and they kill or maim people indiscriminately every year. While there are believed to be approximately 100 million landmines currently buried beneath the earth's surface, removing them must be done by hand and is slow, dangerous work. With the aim of increasing the safety and efficiency of mine removal, Japanese universities and research institutes have been actively looking into robotics as a solution to the problem. Simple systems involving highly efficient insect robots or commercially available buggies can be used not just for mine removal but also for such tasks as agriculture and digging wells. Many have high hopes that this combination of Japanese ideas and technology can help contribute to the solution of this serious problem.

Insect Robots Expected to Aid Recovery in Afghanistan
The Ottawa Convention, which bans the manufacture and use of antipersonnel landmines, was concluded in 1997. A total of 122 countries at present have ratified the treaty, and while it is estimated that the number of mines being removed now exceeds the number being laid, the task of clearing mines is still an arduous one.

Removing a mine involves lying on the ground and listening for indications from a metal detector. When metal is detected, the person must stretch out his or her arms, insert a short metal pole into the ground at an angle, and attempt the nerve-racking job of digging out the mine from the side so as not to set it off. Properly searching two square meters of earth takes between one and two hours of this tense work, and most of what actually turns up is empty bullet cartridges and other scraps of metal. According to 1998 data, it takes three months for one person working ths way to find just one mine. At that rate, it is believed that ridding the world of landmines would take decades or even centuries.

But this is where Japanese robotics comes in. A research group at the Chiba University Faculty of Engineering has continued working to develop demining insect robots, and as of this spring they have nearly finished. At 4 meters long, 1.8 meters wide, 1 meter high, and 900 kilograms, this robot is about the size of a small car. It is supported on six legs in order to avoid mines, it runs on a gasoline engine, and it decides where to go on its own. Along with its six legs, this insect-like robot has two "antennae," one of which serves as a metal detector and the other as a marker. While the one antenna sweeps the ground looking for signals, the other marks any area that is determined to have metal beneath the surface. In addition to being safer than doing the job by hand, this robot is also much faster: It can check 1,500 square meters for mines in just one hour.

What is more, this robot contains a device that uses radar to search for plastic mines, which contain only a very limited amount of metal and are difficult to locate. While this function is still at the experimental stage, the goal is for the computer to be able to analyze the waves that are reflected back and determine not only whether the object in question is a piece of metal or a mine but also what type of mine it is. With the goal of sending this type of robot to Afghanistan within three years as part of Japan's assistance to that war-torn nation, a number of tests will be conducted in order to improve the robot's precision and durability. Although the robot comes with a price tag of ¥50 million ($400,000 at ¥125 to the dollar), the sooner mines are cleared away, the sooner the land can be used again, so it could be called a forward-looking investment.

Developing a Simple Model
Meanwhile, a research group at the Tokyo Institute of Technology has developed an inexpensive, simple device capable of moving under its own power with the goal of deploying it in Afghanistan. A metal detector is moved back and forth along a wire strung between two small remote-control vehicles. As the miniature vehicles can be purchased commercially, the total cost of the device is less than ¥1 million ($8,000).

And although it is not a robot, a power shovel developed by Yamanashi Hitachi Construction Machinery has been used in such countries as Afghanistan, Cambodia, and Nicaragua for the past two years. While the machine does not search for mines, it aims to set off as many of them as possible by plowing up the earth with the rotary cutter embedded in its shovel. The power shovel is a versatile machine as well, as it can be used for plowing, digging wells, or in the construction of roads if its cutter is changed. This fact has led many to praise it as being especially practical, as it can be used for other purposes once a minefield has been cleared.