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December 20, 2006 4:57 PM PST

MIT devices detects land mines from safe distance

by Michael Kanellos
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Researchers at the Lincoln Lab at MIT have come up with something that can be described as a sound flashlight. It emits powerful, but tightly focused acoustic beams that can penetrate underground.

Haupt and his team

(Credit: MIT)

When the beams hit a mine, the vibrations from the collision push up dirt around the area. That movement of dirt is then registered by a radar device.

"It turns out that mines will vibrate quite differently from anything else," said MIT's Robert Haupt in a prepared statement. "You can determine what types of mines there are--and which countries made them--by their unique signatures."

An estimated 26,000 people are killed or maimed every year by 60 to 70 million undetected land mines in 70 countries. Most are civilians.

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Gotta love MIT!
by jeffdodson December 21, 2006 5:38 PM PST
Need more details! Is it ultrasound, infrasound, what's its range, is there an automatic scanning apparatus available so this can be implemented in the field? You know, that sort of stuff. Oh, I almost forget: here's the obligatory misspelling that all blog entries MUST have for acceptance into the blogosphere--I'd like much more detaled info on this device.
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Awesome Technology!
by NoMoreVictoriaSecret December 22, 2006 12:14 PM PST
This is a useful technology. Hopefully they implement this soon!
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Awesome Technology!
by NoMoreVictoriaSecret December 22, 2006 12:14 PM PST
This is a useful technology. Hopefully they implement this soon!

NoMoreVictoriaSecret
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