Robotic Landmine Detector Final Report

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 Table of Content
Executive Summary…………………….…….page 3

Statement of Need…………………………..…page3

Project Specs/Technical Specs………..……....page 4

Preliminary Design……………………………page 4-5

Final Design…………………………………...page 5

Chassis…………………………………..……..page 6

Motors………………………………………....page 6-7

Batteries………………………………….……page 8

Mark Area………………………………..……page 9

Landmine/Metal Detector……………..…...…page 9-12

Microcontroller……………………………......page 12-13

Testing……………………………...………..…page 14

Timeline………………………………… …….page 14

Budget………………………………………….page 15

Conclusion………………………………….…..page 15

Data Sheet……………………………………....page 16

Reference……………………………………….page 17

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 Robotic Landmine Detector Project
Executive Summary

This project involves designing and constructing a robotic vehicle that will scan a
predetermined area and detect any landmines that might be present. The primary areas
being searched will be sandy and rough terrain-like environment. Upon detecting a
landmine the robot will mark the location where the landmine is detected. This robot will
be autonomously navigated by the use of a PIC microcontroller. Two internal DC
Motors will drive the robot. Each motor will connect to a wheel coupled with another to
facilitate motion. The robot’s electrical system will control the robot to stop upon
detection of a mine and mark the location where the mine was detected. The system will
then enable the robot to continue scanning the area until another mine is detected and the
routine continues.

Statement of Need

Landmines are efficient weapon used by approximately 48 countries throughout the

world. Over 100 companies are still producing landmines. These weapons have a
lifespan that is far beyond most of the conflict they are deployed for. Therefore, these
weapons will typically end up killing numerous civilians after the conflict than soldiers.
It is estimated that 70 people are killed or injured by landmines everyday throughout the
world. Anyone who falls victim to a landmine will only have a 50% chance of survival
and even if an individual does survive, they will suffer great personal and long-term
injuries.

The detection and removal of landmines posses a formidable challenge to the world, and
there exists a need for a device that can find mines before they claim another victim. Due
to the widespread usage of landmines, there are many diverse environments that a
detection device would have to be able to work in. Also, due the many different
variations and depth of mines, the device used to detect these mines would have to be
precise and be able to penetrate various diverse environments.

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Project Description/Components

Project Specifications

The electrical engineering department of the University of Connecticut requires the

design of an operational prototype of a robotic landmine detector. The landmine detector
will find landmines that are constructed of metal. By knowing where the landmine is, a
trained professional can disarm and remove the mine from the ground.
The landmine detector will operate in a sandy environment that is characterized as being
relatively flat. The robot must have an internal motor to facilitate motion coupled with
either wheels or a track and these motors will be controlled by the microcontroller. It is
also necessary for the robot to have an electrical system that will stop the robot when a
mine is found.

Technical Specifications:

Location Desert terrain and sandy environment

Temperature range 30°- 110°F
Storage Temp -50° -150° F
Vibrations Withstand being dropped from 1.5 ft
Moisture Can withstand being wet on the exterior but not to the interior
mechanics and circuitry
Durability Transported with minimal roughness
Weight Withstand being carried by 2 health individual
Cost requirement Within the ECE department
Area covered 25 meter squared in less than 1 hour, due to battery life

System Overview

Preliminary Design

Originally the team decided on having a robotic vehicle that will consist of tracks. We
wanted to implement tracks because of the sandy terrain the vehicle will be

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 operated in. After doing research and trying to locate tracks we did not come up
with too many options. Most individuals using tracks for their robots today
construct them from rubber and wires, which is time consuming. We wanted to
focus most of our research and design on programming the microcontroller and the
metal detector and not the tracks. Through some research we found that if we use
wheels that are big enough that they will navigate through sandy environment with
no problems, so we decided to use 4 large tires instead of the tracks.

Also the original microcontroller that was going to be used was the PIC16F874 used in
ECE 266 and programmed using assembly language. However, neither of the
members of the group is comfortable programming using assembly language so we
decided to look at some other options. After doing some research we found the
OOPic microcontroller, which is programmable in C, Java, or Basic and sounded
like a more opportune option. This microcontroller also has an I/O voltage
regulator, which would be convenient for our design.

Another change that we made to the design was using a remote. We were going to use a
remote controller because of our minimal experience with programming the
PIC16F874, but after changing to the OOPic we can eliminate the remote control
and make the robot completely autonomous.

Final Design

The landmine detector consists of five major subsections including: vehicle chassis,
batteries, motors, metal detector circuitry, and a PIC Microcontroller.

Block Diagram

24V 1500 mAHr IG32P Gear

Paint valve
NiMH Battery Pack Motors

Chassis

GoldPIC II OOPIC II
PI Metal Detector Microcontroller
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The body of the robot will be constructed with acrylic material. The dimensions are 14”
x 18”. We chose this material because it is easy to work with and lightweight, which
is what we want because we are operating in sandy environment. We also had the
choice of using Plexiglas but others experience with Plexiglas is that it is very
difficult to work with and it shatters if not drilled properly. We could have also used
aluminum but that might interfere with the metal detector circuitry and we did not
want to take the risk. The wheels that we are using are 3.5 inch in diameter, which is
big enough to traverse through sand and rough terrain. These wheels also come with
a wheel encoder to facilitate navigation.

Motors

The motors will be used to physically navigate our robot around by driving four wheels.
We have decided to use two motors where each motor would power one wheel
coupled with another. When we were exploring options in regards to what kind of
motor will be used, we thought that either DC motors or stepper motors would make
the best choices. This was due to the fact that the robot will be carrying all of its
power on board in the form of batteries. Therefore, it would be illogical to choose a
motor that does not use DC, if an AC motor were chosen, then the motor would
require an extra circuit to change from DC to AC.

Knowing that DC motors and stepper motors would provide the best options, we then
looked at each type of motors characteristics of operation. Obviously, within the
general title of DC motors there exists a wide variety of subsets but the chief types

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 consist of permanent magnets and field coil. In general, DC motors are characterized
by possessing high torque from standstill and are easily controlled by varying the
applied voltage. A DC motor with a permanent magnet seems like a better choice
due to the fact that it is lighter than a DC motor with a field coil. The stepper motor
also provides many advantages, such as its precise speed control, and a large amount
of torque. The only disadvantage is that it requires a switching circuit. With these
ideas in mind, we came to the conclusion that a DC motor with a permanent magnet
would provide the best results. This was due to the fact that we will not need the
precision of a stepper motor and by using a DC motor with a permanent magnet we
will get adequate enough torque for our robot. Also, implementing our design with
DC motors as appose to stepper motors avoids other circuits to be built, thus keeping
our design simple.

The DC motors we will use for our design are the 24VDC 190-RPM IG32P Gear Motor
shown below.

Fig 2. IG32P Gear Motor

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 Graph 1. Torque / Current Curves for IG32P Gear Motor

(1 lb is ~453 grams)

The chassis of our robot will weight about 2 lb and in addition with the other parts of our
design the overall weight of the robot will be close to the ideal operation
characteristics of these DC motors. By operating the IG32P Gear Motor at the
current that best correlates with the weight of the robot we will achieve the torque
and speed that we desired from these motors.

Batteries

There are a wide variety of batteries to choose from. To narrow our search, we wanted a
battery that would be rechargeable due to the fact that we will be performing
extensive testing on the robot and it will be costly to replace batteries after ever run.
Also, another benefit to using rechargeable batteries is the fact that they are more
economical than other batteries in the long run. The two most common rechargeable
batteries are Nickel-cadmium (NiCad) or Nickel-metal Hydride (NiMH). Nickel-
Cadmium batteries were found to have memory problems. If you consistently
topped off a NiCad battery when it was only partially discharged, the battery would
quickly lose its full original capacity. Because of this memory issue we decided to
use the NiMH battery pack for use in our design. We will use a 24V 1500 mAHr
NiMH Battery Pack as shown below.

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 Fig 3. 24V 1500 mAHr NiMH Battery Pack

The batteries are arranged in a 2x10 array of AA batteries interconnected by soldered

strips and covered with PVC wrapping. These batteries are convenient due to their
compact packaging, reducing the hassle of recharging individual batteries.

Mark Area

The paint portion of our design will be used as the means to mark the spot of the mine.
To do this, we will use a plastic line connected at one end to a small container of
paint and at the other end placed in the middle of the metal detectors coil. When
metal is detected, and the user knows about where the metal is, he or she will flip a
switch in order to allow paint to drip out on to the sand. Paint will drip out because
we will allow air to flow into the paint container and gravity will then be able to
draw the paint out.

Landmine/Metal Detection

Although not all landmines are made of metal, those that have metal casing or
have substantial metallic content are among the prevalent in most minefields. The
detection of landmines made of materials other than metallic requires many types of
sensors and detection technologies such as thermal, chemical, or ground penetrating radar
imaging. They pose a great deal of complexity for landmine detection. However, metal-
cased landmines can be detected quite readily with a metal detector. Non-metallic cased
mines such as plastic mines contain varying degrees of metal. It is still possible to be
detectable if the fuse is made of metal, but if only the detonating tube and firing pin

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(weighing approximately 0.6 g in an M14, and even less—0.35 grams—in a PMA3) are
metal, it would be difficult to detect. Increasing the sensitivity of the metal detector may
allow us to detect the firing pin when adjusted appropriately. However, this would cause
the sensor to pick up undesired small metal objects, which in turn results in a high false
alarm rate. Nevertheless, metal detectors remain the most widely used tool in the
detection of landmines. Therefore, due to the limitations of various factors including our
budget and to prevent over-complexity of our project, we have decided to make our
robotic landmine detector to be one that finds metallic landmines rather than those that
are made of any other materials.

Fig 4. Garrett PI Metal Detector

There are various methods and technologies used for metal detection. Three of the
most used are: very low frequency (VLF), beat frequency oscillation (BFO), pulse-
induction (PI). VLF metal detector is the most commonly used metal detector. It relies on
phase shifting to detect metal. Objects with high inductance have larger phase shift but
are slow to react to current change, while those with high resistance have smaller phase
shift and are faster to react. VLF uses this property to discriminate most metals that vary
both in inductance and resistance. The most basic way to detect metal is to use BFO.
BFO has coils that are connected to an oscillator that generates pulses in the kilohertz
range. The magnetic field caused by the current flowing through the coil creates B-field
in the object and then interferes with the frequency of the oscillator. This deviation in

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frequency allows BFO metal detector to determine the object is metallic. However, BFO
does not have the same level of control in terms of sensitivity based on its functionality.
PI metal detectors, unlike VLF’s, use a single coil to both transmit electromagnetic pulse
and receive any detected induced eddy current by the pulse in the underground metal
objects. This technology is widely used by hobbyists as coin detectors on the beach and is
commercially available.
After researching and comparing these three types of methods, we have found the
PI sensors are better in areas that have highly conductive materials in the soil and the
general environment. The pulse-emitted signals can penetrate deeper and cover larger
areas in less time without missing deeply buried objects. The fact that this type of metal
detector is available commercial facilitated our decision to go with the PI metal detector.

Fig 5. GoldPic 3 PI Metal Detector Circuit

The metal detector of choice was the GoldPic 3 Pulse Induction Metal Detector.
We have selected this particular metal detect circuit because of it is easy to build and
much more inexpensive than to purchase a fully functional metal detector such as the
Garrett PI metal detector seen in (Fig 4). With the GoldPic 3 PI metal detector, we are
able to adjust the sensitivity of the detector to suit our purpose of landmine detection. We
will also have the flexibility of making our own shaft and search coil that would be
appropriate for our robot. The suggested coil consists of 27 Turns of 0.5mm enameled
single strand copper wire with a diameter of 190mm. (7.6 inches). The recommended
method of winding the coil is:

1. Draw a 190 mm diameter circle on a piece of wood or board.

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 2. Knock in a small nail every 30mm around the circumference of the circle. The
nails should slant out of the circle by a few degrees.
3. Wind exactly 27 turns around the nails, flush with the board. Leave +/- 10cm long
flying leads for soldering to at the start and finish of the winding.
4. Pull out every other nail.
5. Using twine and a sewing needle, ‘sew’ a spiral of twine around the coil, tightly
grouping the windings together. Fasten the ends by knotting.
6. Remove the remaining nails.
7. Add another tight spiral of twine and secure the flying leads in place.
We will be experimenting and adjusting the sensitivity of our metal detector
extensively as soon as we receive the parts.

Central Controls/Microcontroller

The brain of our robot will be the PIC microcontroller. The PIC will be the central
control for the metal detector and the motors. The DC motors, paint valve and the
metal detector will be interfaced with the PIC; when the robot is in motion and a
mine is detected the PIC will prompt the motors to stop. The paint valve will then
open, marking that spot as a hazard area for a potential mine. After marking that
location, the robot will turn left or right depending on current position; it will then
continue to scan the area. These functions will be carried out by means of the PIC
microcontroller.

The PIC that we chose for the design is the OOPic II, which can be seen below.

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 Fig 6. OOPIC II Microcontroller

This microcontroller was chosen for several reasons. One reason is because of its object-
oriented language. This PIC can be programmed in C, or Java, and since one member of
the group is a CSE major and the other members are familiar with C it was an obvious
choice. This familiarity with the C compiler will allow us to program the PIC quickly
allowing us more time for testing the individual components and associated programs.
Another practical reason for using this PIC is that the Objects within the OOPic can be
connected together to create a Virtual Circuit. This virtual circuit operates in the
background as your program tends to other tasks. The programs can even be Event-
Driven by tying programmed procedures into the virtual circuits to trigger interrupts.
Any PIC where the interrupts can be easily controlled would be ideal for robotics
projects.

The OOPic II object oriented microcontroller is the primary MCU of our design. The
OOPic will control the PWM controlling the motors and the valve to mark the location of
the mine; it will take the inputs from the metal detector circuitry.

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 FIG 7. Schematic of OOPic II Input/Output ports

Testing

Each component of the robot will be tested individually. The metal detector circuitry will
have to be tweaked to suit what we are trying to accomplish. We want the detector to
penetrate the ground as far as it could, but at the same time we want to eliminate any
small metal objects that might not be a landmine. The robot chassis itself be
assembled and tested in sandy environment to make sure that that wheels are
sufficient enough for searching the path. The microcontroller where we predict we
will be spending the most time will be programmed and interfaced with the motors
and the metal detector circuitry.

Timeline

Fall 2004 Winter Break

Sept October November December January
W3 W1 W2 W3 W4 W1 W2 W3 W4 W1 W2 W3 W4 W1 W2
Research
Metal Detector
Sensors
Remote Control
Locomotion
Body

Design
Metal Detector
Remote Control
Locomotion
Body

Ordering Parts

Testing

Implementation

Written Report
Project Statement
Project Specs
Project Proposal
Final Report
Weekly Report

Schedule

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 Completed
Currently working on

Estimated Budget

Materials Price
Acrylic $70

Two 24VDC 190 RPM IG32P Gear $45

Motor
Motor Housing $60
Wheels and Axils $40
Wheel encoder $30
OOPic II w/ Cables $70
Batteries $60
Hardware $20
Metal Detector $70
Search Coils $10
Miscellaneous $50
TOTAL = $525

Conclusion

The basic project requires the assembly of a device to help facilitate the removal
of landmines in a sandy environment. The area searched will be 25 meters squared in
approximately 45 minutes or less. We believe that the device will be able to search a
larger area but we are going to test the robot in an actual site before we modify our
specifications in this particular area. Future work could be done in trying to figure
out a way in which this robot could help to find landmines that consist of no metal.
Nonetheless, this device will be a significant start for any future developments.

DATA SHEET

DC Motors

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24VDC 5kgf-cm 190 RPM Gear Motor -Characteristics

Reduction Rated Rated Rated No Load

No Load Current
Ratio Torque Speed Current Speed
kgf-cm rpm mA rpm mA
1:27 5.0 190 <900mA 223 <450mA

OOPic Specs
Programming Connector.
Connects to the PC's Printer Port. (5 Pins)
Power Connector.
Connects to any power supply of 6-15 Volts DC. (2 Pins)
I/O Connector.
Provides connection to all I/O. (40 Pins)
Memory Sockets.
2 Sockets for program and data EEPROM. (8 Pins)
Network Connectors.
2 Connectors for I2C network cables. (5 Pins)
Prototyping Area
76 Proto holes + 34 signal & 24 power connections
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Mechanical layout.
2 inches X 3-1/2 inches x 5/8 inch.
 Reference

www.thebotshop.com

OOPic II and Cables & Chassis

www.allproducts.com

24VDC 190 RPM IG32P Gear Motor

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