Landmine detection and discrimination using high-pressure waterjets

Abstract

Methods of locating and identifying buried landmines using high-pressure waterjets were investigated. Methods were based on the sound produced when the waterjet strikes a buried object. Three classification techniques were studied, based on temporal, spectral, and a combination of temporal and spectral approaches using weighted density distribution functions, a maximum likelihood approach, and hidden Markov models, respectively. Methods were tested with laboratory data from low-metal content simulants and with field data from inert real landmines. Results show that the sound made when the waterjet hit a buried object could be classified with a 90% detection rate and an 18% false alarm rate. In a blind field test using 3 types of harmless objects and 7 types of landmines, buried objects could be accurately classified as harmful or harmless 60%-90% of the time. High-pressure waterjets may serve as a useful companion to conventional detection and classification methods.