Mine action technology

Detecting and clearing landmines relies on many technologies, from traditional metal detectors to animals' sense of smell, drones and AI. Each technology has its strengths and weaknesses, so they are used in combination.

Detection

Metal Detector (Manual Demining)

The most basic tool of demining. A deminer uses the detector to check for metal signals in the ground, then carefully investigates each spot that gives a signal and removes any landmine or unexploded ordnance. In Cambodia, manual clearance teams from CMAC, the HALO Trust, MAG, and others use it every day.
ALIS (Advanced Landmine Imaging System)

A Japanese-made mine detector developed by Professor Motoyuki Sato of Tohoku University. It is a dual sensor combining a metal detector with ground-penetrating radar (GPR): the radar turns the underground objects picked up by the metal detector into images that can be checked on a screen. Through JICA's cooperation, it has been used at CMAC for many years.

Animal detection

Mine Detection Dog (MDD)

Dogs trained to find landmines and unexploded ordnance with their excellent sense of smell. CMAC handles everything from breeding to training at its dedicated dog center, and MAG also uses locally trained detection dogs at clearance sites in Cambodia.
Mine Detection Rat (African Giant Pouched Rat / HeroRAT)

African giant pouched rats trained by APOPO, an NGO founded in Belgium. They use their excellent sense of smell to detect the scent of the explosives in landmines. Weighing only 1 to 1.3 kg, they are light enough that there is no risk of setting off a mine during a search — a major advantage. In Cambodia they work in partnership with CMAC and MAG.

Machinery

Brush Cutter (Vegetation Clearing Machine)

A machine that cuts back grass, bushes, and shrubs before a minefield is surveyed. Cutting vegetation once took up about 70 percent of the total clearance time in Cambodia, but brush cutters provided through Japan's grant aid mechanized the work, greatly improving the speed and safety of clearance.
Demining Robot (DMR)

A remotely operated excavation robot developed by the Japanese company IOS Co., Ltd. with use in Cambodia in mind. A deminer operates it from a safe spot more than 15 meters away, and it digs up the ground using air pressure. Trials with CMAC were carried out through JICA's support program for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Drones & satellites

Drone / UAV Survey

Unmanned aircraft that survey minefields from the air. The HALO Trust is using drones carrying LiDAR and multispectral sensors to identify hazardous areas, and GICHD also regards aerial remote sensing as an important developing field in mine action.

AI & data

GIS / IMSMA (Information Management System for Mine Action)

An information management framework for recording, mapping, and analyzing mine contamination. IMSMA, developed in 1998 by ETH Zurich and GICHD, is the world-standard system introduced in more than 40 countries including Cambodia, and it uses GIS (geographic information systems) to visualize contamination.
AI and Satellite Imagery Analysis

A new technology that uses artificial intelligence and satellite imagery to narrow down areas suspected of mine contamination more accurately. At GICHD's Innovation Conference 2025, a pilot study in Cambodia by CMAC, JICA, and NEC Laboratories Europe won an award and drew attention.