IRES Cambodia: Mechatronics For Humanitarian Remediation of Explosive Remnants Of War

Villanova University, Villanova PA

Investigators

Abstract

Explosive remnants of war (ERW) present a significant issue for Cambodia and other low-income countries. In response to this problem, the field of humanitarian ERW remediation seeks to detect, dispose, and even recycle ERW with the goal of rendering the ERW-contaminated land safe. Thus, these activities are of critical importance to the growth of affected nations and safety of their people. This international research experiences for students (IRES) program is focused on using mechatronics - a field which integrates mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, control systems engineering, and computer science - to develop solutions for the humanitarian ERW remediation community. This program, run from Villanova University (VU), will send 6 students - at least 2 of which will be graduate students - to do research in Cambodia, one of the most ERW contaminated countries in the world. These students will undertake a 10 week long summer program, including 7.5 weeks in-country. While in Cambodia, the students will collaborate with researchers affiliated with the Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC) - the premiere technical university in Cambodia - and the Golden West Humanitarian Foundation (GWHF) - one of the world leaders in humanitarian ERW remediation research and development. In addition to the main research goal of finding mechatronic solutions to problems in the humanitarian ERW remediation community, the program will also serve to 1) strengthen an existing VU-GWHF collaboration, 2) develop globally-engaged engineering researchers and 3) introduce future leaders in engineering research to humanitarian engineering issues. The proposed research program will focus on difficult, real-world problems in the area of humanitarian ERW remediation. Projects will be jointly agreed upon by the researchers at VU, ITC, and GWHF. Potential projects include robotic non-technical and/or technical survey for area reduction, automated visual inspection of ordinance, and communications for explosive ordnance disposal (EOD). In general, the fundamental research in this project has the potential to impact mechatronics in a number of ways, including advancements to novel robotics platforms, advanced control and search algorithms, new sensors and sensing strategies, swarm robotics algorithms, and communications.