Dutch demining device evokes interest at Dimdex

Mine Kafon's pavilion is not that imposing unlike some of those participating at Dimdex 2018 but a ball-shaped object displayed there is inviting the attention of visitors at the Qatar National Convention Centre, the venue of the exhibition.

One of the companies providing demining solutions to the armies of several countries, the Netherlands firm has been working to develop programmes and equipment for military field survey requirements, which include geo-tagging, object identification and deactivation and detonation among others.Mine Kafon managing director Mahmud Hassani, and his brother Mahmud Hassani, who grew up on the edge of Kabul, lived in a house from where they experienced the horrors of land mines from an early age.During the Afghan civil war, the siblings moved to several countries before eventually settling down in the Netherlands where they set up their company."We were forced to invent and create our own objects and toys during the childhood, which was severely affected by landmines and remnants of war," said Mahmud while recalling the horrors of the past.Inspired by humanitarian beliefs, nature and the wind-aided toys, the brother grew up making the "Mine Kafon", a wind-powered art piece in 2011 as part of their global awareness campaign and a legitimate mine clearing device.Their project has won a number of international honours and awards. “It helped us raise awareness about mine through a number of media outlets,” recalled Mahmud. "These days we are testing and developing many systems, incorporating custom mechatronics with a variety of sensors and algorithms to detect the characteristics of various remnants of war," Mahmud said, adding, "We firmly believe that these disruptive technologies can bring around serious changes to problems faced by demining methods."