University of Coimbra Automating Minefield Clearance

A Clearpath Robotics Husky, the platform the University of Coimbra is using for its mine-clearance robot. Photo courtesy Clearpath Robotics.

By Danielle Lucey



The University of Coimbra in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, is taking up the task of automating the currently manual — and very dangerous — job of clearing minefields for humanitarian efforts.  



The group has created a mobile robot based on Clearpath Robotics’ Husky unmanned ground vehicle with an arm that can perceive terrain characteristics, navigate the field, and then detect and localize landmines using a ground-penetrating radar. 



“Minesweeping is an extremely dangerous and time-intensive process,” says Lino Marques, senior lecturer at the University of Coimbra and academic liaison for the project. “Robots do not get tired, they can be extremely thorough performing their jobs, and their cost is infinitely smaller than that of a human life. For these reasons, robots are a perfect solution for the minesweeping problem.”



The group performed its first round of field tests in 2013, but they were stalled by issues with their custom-made robotic arm. They are planning a second round of testing for mid-2014. The effort is being funded by Canada’s Clearpath Robotics, which recently was named the new service and support provider for Willow Garage’s PR2 mobile robot and Robotic Operating System. The university team is using ROS as its software.



“We are very proud to be supporters of Dr. Marques’ humanitarian research into demining robotics,” says Matt Rendall, CEO at Clearpath Robotics. “Clearpath Robotics was originally founded with a focus to clear landmines using a swarm of small mobile robots — that’s how we got our name — so it’s very exciting for us to work with the University of Coimbra to advance this incredibly noble research.”