Landmine detection utilizing an unmanned aerial vehicle

Landmines pose a great danger to people in many areas. It is imperative to correctly identify the location of landmines for proper removal. Hence, there is a need to efficiently and accurately identify locations of landmines. The objective of this project is to conduct preliminary system analysis of three unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) utilizing ground penetrating synthetic aperture radar (GPSAR) aiding in the detection of landmines. Moreover, the effort will aid in assessing the overall effectiveness of landmine detection utilizing a UAV. Three design alternatives are modeled and tested. The first design alternative is a MQ-1 Predator; a long-endurance UAV primarily used for reconnaissance and surveillance missions. The second alternative is a Shadow 600. The Shadow 600 is capable of carrying various payloads. The third design alternative is the Shadow 200 which can be launched from the ground using a catapult. Each design alternative carries an unfocused GPSAR utilizing the length of the fuselage to increase aperture efficiency. Using satellite tool kit (STK) analysis software, design alternatives are assessed by their performance in scanning a one square kilometer area of interest (AOI). Critical figures of merit used to elicit system effectiveness include time on target (time that the radar pulses the landmine), area overlap percentage, area coverage, coverage speed, and energy consumption. Acquisition cost, operational cost, and maintenance cost of each design alternative are plotted against system effectiveness to identify the best alternative.