Thermal detection of buried landmines by local heating

A new concept for buried antipersonnel mine (APM) detection is proposed. The detection system is based on a focused heat source and a contactless thermometer mounted on a suspended carriage scanning the ground surface. Presence of heat diffusivity anomalies ( mine candidates) is assessed from anomalies in the surface temperature measured after the local heating. After describing the structure of the proposed system, and the physical functioning principles, we discuss a case study, based on numerical simulations, which proves the feasibility of the device. Main advantages of the system proposed are the simplicity of the equipment ( that is cheap to realize, and easy to use, maintain and repair), and power efficiency.