Landmines are a huge problem around the world. Nearly invisible, buried in fields or along roads, landmine can kill for years after a conflict, rendering land unsuitable for farming or for habitation, and killing 15,000 to 20,000 people per year. The mines can be difficult, dangerous, and expensive to remove, making demining difficult in developing countries. However, Afghan designer Massoud Hassani has engineered a low cost, effective solution for demining in regions of Afghanistan. Check it out:
MINE KAFON is a 5th place Winner in the $200,000 GE/FOCUS FORWARD Filmmaker Competition. Watch the winners at http://www.focusforwardfilms.com/winners.
DIRECTOR: Callum Cooper
DOP: Michael Latham
CAMERA: Michael Latham, Mahmud Hassani, Callum Cooper
SLOW MOTION CAMERA: Ed Edwards
EDITOR: Anna Meller
COLOR GRADER: Chris Teeder
SOUND MIXER AND DESIGNER: Sandy Milne
TITLE DESIGNER: Ray O'Meara
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Bobby Kapur
PRODUCERS:Alicia Brown, Michael Latham, Callum Cooper
THANKS: Lucie Kalmar, Slowmo High Speed, Optimism Films
The RNLA explosive ordnance disposal service
Copyright Ardent Film Trust 2012
Find out more about this project on Hassani's website: massoudhassani.com. You can also read more about the project on their (fully-funded) Kickstarter page.
Landmines are truly horrible. Unfortunately, the kafon will never be able to fully clear a minefield. Check out this article to see a simulation of the kafon.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.statisticsblog.com/2013/01/simulation-of-landmine-clearing-with-massoud-hassanis-mine-kafon/
Thanks for the link! Asher's simulation is very helpful. I still think this technology is incredibly useful-- as Asher notes, the kafons would still be an inexpensive way to determine the presence of mines as well as possibly determining the concentration of mines. Additionally, using kafons as a precursor to using manual, animal-assisted, or mechanical clearance would decrease the overall time and cost required for a demining operation.
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