Thursday, January 17, 2013

Ingenious Afghan designer’s tumbleweed clears land mines


Mine Kafon - Massoud Hassani
The Mine Kafon, by Afghan designer Massoud Hassani, is designed to be blown across dangerous terrain by the wind, triggering mines as it passes over them. A single unit, which costs about $50 to make, could remove several mines, as each explosion will only destroy a few of the Mine Kafon’s limbs.
“Made from bamboo and biodegradable plastics, the Mine Kafon also has a GPS chip integrated in it,” explains Hassani. “You can follow its movement on the website and see were it went, where are the safest paths to walk on and how many land mines are destroyed in that area. On paper, Afghanistan is said to have 10 million land mines. In truth there are far, far more. Every destroyed land mine means a saved life and every life counts.”

The Mine Kafon will soon become part of the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, which will host an exhibition by Hassani in March 2013.

2 comments:

  1. What a wonderful invention! But you don't say if it's actually being manufactured and employed. I suspect not.

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  2. It is wonderfully designed. However, it will most likely not be effective in the real world. Check out this article to see how ineffective the kafons will be.
    http://www.statisticsblog.com/2013/01/simulation-of-landmine-clearing-with-massoud-hassanis-mine-kafon/

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