Mine Kafon Developed by Massoud Hassani - Essay Example

The mine detector was designed to be heavy enough to trip landmines as well as light enough to be propelled by the wind. The mine detector has three major parts; the nucleus where the GPS tracking chip and all the other parts of Mine Kafon are attached. The legs are made using strong bamboo sticks and at the base, the feet are attached. The feet are made using biodegradable plastic material and are designed to be heavy enough to tramp on landmines and also light enough to get propulsion.

The core of Mine Kafon is a 17-kilogram iron casing, a 17-kilogram rounded by several protruding bamboo legs. The core carries a GPS tracking unit equipped with a GPS chip used for tracking the mine detector. The GPS chip can be remotely controlled using mobile applications and hence a GPS map can be drawn to trace the path of minefields. The GPS data can be downloaded in real-time or accessed online. The data can be used to map the areas that have been cleared of landmines by the device.

The Legs The legs act as the locomotion unit of Mine Kafon. The legs are made using strong bamboo sticks which are around one meter in length. The legs are attached to the core and act as a link between the feet and the core. The tip of the bamboo is slightly reduced to allow a perfect fit with the foot. The choice of material was made after considering the strength characteristics of bamboo and its weight properties. Titsitsitsitsfeet also adds weight to the mine detector, and are spaced in a manner that will enable air to blow through the inside of the feet, therefore enabling propulsion.

With each detonation, Mine Kafon loses a few legs, like one or two and therefore under nor, mal working conditions, the device will be able to destroy three or four landmines in a single journey. The Feet The feet form the most important part of Mine Kafon. It provides a suspension mechanism that enables the device to roll over rough terrain. The entire weight of the landmine detonator is about eighty kilograms, heavy enough to detonate a landmine. The foot is made using biodegradable plastic that is fitted at the protruding end of the bamboo leg.

The base is designed to be flat to enable it to exert enough pressure onto the ground as well as provide the stability required for movement. The foot also acts as the propulsion unit of Mine Kafon. The inside is made into a trough shape to enable the blowing air to push the foot forward, to enable providing movement. Hard plans that will also provide endurance in rocky fields are the material making the feet. At the neck of the foot is a round corrugation that acts as the spring during propulsion.

The spring also ensures the stability of the legs and the ring motion and therefore during detonation, it absorbs extra impact on the other feet. Conclusion Mine Kafon was designed to be a low-cost tech that will help in clearing landmines in Afghanistan and beyond. Despite the marvel of its success, it has also gathered a score of challenges during its testing. The GPS tracking unit has to be redesigned to have higher accuracy. Some of her design improvements are being considered before they can finally be deployed in an actual minefield.