Can this giant ball which gets blown around in the wind rid the world of landmines?

  • Dandelion-shaped devices are made simply of bamboo, iron and plastic
  • Can carry GPS tracking devices to show which areas have been cleared
  • Brainchild of designer who fled war-torn Afghanistan when he was 14
  • There are an estimated 30m landmines in the country, more than people

By Simon Tomlinson

PUBLISHED: 09:32 GMT, 22 October 2012 | UPDATED: 10:38 GMT, 22 October 2012


It might look like an unused prop from the Star Wars films, but this giant ball has the potential to save thousands of lives.

Like a giant clump of dandelion seeds, it is designed to be blown around in the wind detonating landmines in its path.

Made simply of bamboo, iron and plastic, each one is relatively cheap to produce and can clear up to four bombs before being destroyed themselves.

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Going ball-istic: This spherical device has been designed to be blown around in the wind detonating landmines

Going ball-istic: This spherical device has been designed to be blown around in the wind detonating landmines

On a roll: The balls are made of bamboo, plastic and iron which mean they are relatively cheap to make

On a roll: The balls are made of bamboo, plastic and iron which mean they are relatively cheap to make

Each device, called Mine Kafon, will have a GPS tracking device linked to a website to show which areas have been cleared.

They are the brainchild of Massoud Hassani, who at the age of 14 fled war-torn Afghanistan, where there are more landmines than people.

 

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He travelled with smugglers to Pakistan and Russian before settling down in Holland to study at the Design Academy Eindhoven.

Having a blast: Each device can include a GPS tracking device to show which areas have been cleared

Having a blast: Each device can include a GPS tracking device to show which areas have been cleared

Potential life-savers: The devices are the brainchild of Massoud Hassani, who fled war-torn Afghanistan at the age of 14

Potential life-savers: The devices are the brainchild of Massoud Hassani, who fled war-torn Afghanistan at the age of 14

Simple, but highly effective: Mr Hassani said he had the idea for his invention after making miniature models during his childhood which would often blow into minefields

Simple, but highly effective: Mr Hassani said he had the idea for his invention after making miniature models during his childhood which would often blow into minefields

Eliminating the danger: Depending on which part of the device the mines hit, they could destroy up to four bombs before they become unuseable

Eliminating the danger: Depending on which part of the device the mines hit, they could destroy up to four bombs before they become unuseable

Blown to bits: There are an estimated 30million landmines in Afghanistan, more than one for each person

Blown to bits: There are an estimated 30million landmines in Afghanistan, more than one for each person

MINES KILL DOZENS EACH YEAR

A British soldier uses a metal detector to search for landmines near a bridge north of Kabul


Clearing landmines is a perilous and all-too-often fatal operation.

While the military have increasingly been using robots for seek and destroy missions, sometimes they can only be carried out by soldiers, above.

Landmines and roadside bombs kill or maim dozens of soldiers each year in Afghanistan.

Conservative estimates put the number of landmines in the country at around 10million, but it is thought there could be many times more. 

Mr Hassani said he had the idea for his invention after making miniature models during his childhood.

He and his brother would make their own toys, small wind-powered cylinders which would often get blown into a minefield, where they could not get them back.

He said: 'Me and my brother Mahmud, we played every day on the fields surrounded with the highest mountains in our neighborhood.

'There was always a strong wind waving towards the mountains. While we were racing against each other, our small miniatures rolled way to fast and too far.

'Mostly they landed in areas where we were not allowed to step a foot on.

'Those areas were very dangerous because of the landmines. It was full of them. I still remember those friends that we have lost and saw them getting injured.'

He said: 'I thought "I am going to make these objects 20 times bigger and heavier".

'There are 30million landmines in Afghanistan and 26million people, so that’s more mines than people.'

Mr Hassani has teamed up with the Dutch Explosive Disposal Ordnance Unit to test it in the Moroccan desert, but in its present form they say it is not suitable for military purposes.

Undeterred, Mr Hassani is now looking for a solution. 'I hope they can help me build these things,' he said.

Mr Hassani came up with his invention while studying at the Design Academy Eindhoven in Holland, where he fled to from his war-torn country
Inside the Mine Kafon device

Helping others: Mr Hassani came up with his invention while studying at the Design Academy Eindhoven in Holland, where he fled to from his war-torn country

Developing his idea: Mr Hassani teamed up with the Dutch Explosive Disposal Ordnance Unit to test his minehunter in the Moroccan desert

Developing his idea: Mr Hassani teamed up with the Dutch Explosive Disposal Ordnance Unit to test his minehunter in the Moroccan desert

Work in progress: In its present form, the device is not suitable for military purposes, but Mr Hassani is determined to find a solution

Work in progress: In its present form, the device is not suitable for military purposes, but Mr Hassani is determined to find a solution

 
 

Comments (172)

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If just one mine is left in a field . Then it's a mine field still . Nice idea but total waste of time and effort . I still say sheep and goats are better option.

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Granted it's going to take a lot of development, but the potential is there! Although if they can survive 'up to 4' blasts before being un useable... You would need 7.5 million of them (at minimum) to clear the country :O I've got an image now of an indestructable space ball getting blasted and bouncing around the countryside

Click to rate     Rating   15

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Flail tanks?

Click to rate     Rating   23

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Design upgrade? - Shock absorbers to take the force of the explosion, so they can roll over more! (and possibly some enemies as they go) Ka-ta-ma-riii :D

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Alternatively, capture members of the Taliban, blindfold them, and get them to wander around until they find the mines and report back. Fantastically simple!

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I take the point that, in order for land to be confirmed as safe, mine clearing has to be completed in systematic and mappable manner, but surely it's got to be a good idea to do as much clearance as possible first via any other method available. Every mine that is blown up by something like this, it is one fewer able to blow to smithereens the people who have to perform the painstaking inch by inch search, which has to be a good thing (especially if you are one of the people doing the clearing!)

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machines cannot get rid of mines - only people can get rid of mines. NEXT.

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Brilliant - improvement ideas - use worn out tyres in a C or flange shape to the outside- they will catch the wind like a turbine and have enough weight to them (design to western male 90%ile weight) to set off the landmine and be robust enough to be reused - or remoulded. There is the possibility here with the correct development given mountains of tires to lay down tooling so that there is no need for assembly - flat packed then pops up in area concerned,only down side to this development requires wind power so the area is not totally safe unless the wind and ball travels in all directions - possibility of using gyroscopic motion to control ball but that would have to be encased in a black box arrangement for reuse. Inventor get in touch with me - I love your idea lets bounce ideas backwards and forwards for the good of the planet and not for profit. John Raymond Sizeland BSc Hons Eng. BSc Hons Ind. Prod. Des.

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whilst there a whole range of devices to assist in clearing mines etc, tanks are also mentioned here, in peacetime the ground has to be 100% clear, in war it does not, and the only way to guarantee that 100% is still a person, laying on the ground, prodding every square inch, a slow methodical approach is the only way. Ideas such as this will miss many more mines than they activate, so even after being swept by a device such as these,the ground still has to be prodded, inch by inch.

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I know a way of getting rid of landmines- governments could stop taking financial kick backs from arms manufacturers and dealers to allow this evil trade in death to continue. The USA, UK and France are MAJOR players in the weapons industry.

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