A landmine detection system is being patented by two German companies, JVD Decken and Bodenseewerk. A helicopter scans a mined area with beams of visible and infrared light. A camera compares the visible reflections with the infrared ones to correlate temperature differences with visible marks on the ground. When the signature of a mine is spotted, an operator marks the spot with a tightly focused infrared light spot. Then a high-power laser zeroes in on the marked spot to burn through the mine casing, setting it off or rendering it harmless (GB 2 330 801).
To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content.