First results of the Joint Multi-sensor Mine-signatures measurement campaign (MsMs project)

The objective of the Joint Multi-sensor Mine-signatures (MsMs) campaign is to organize and execute an experimental campaign for collecting data of buried land-mines with multiple sensors. These data sets will then be made widely available to researchers and developers working on sensor fusion, signal processing for improved detection and identification of land-mines, assessing the role of the operator in the detection process, etc …. The outdoor test facility (5.7 × 80 m) of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, located at Ispra (Italy), houses the test minefield. Six test strips of 6 × 6 m consisting of different soil types (cluttered grassy terrain, loamy soil, sandy soil, clay soil, soil with high content of organic matter, and ferromagnetic soil) are complemented with one reference test strip of 6 × 6 m consisting of pure sand. The list of objects buried in the minefield includes mine simulants of three different dimensions with either a low or a high metal content, reference targets for position referencing and calibration checking, and clutter objects including empty bullet cartridges, metal cans, barbed wire, stones, wood, plastic boxes, etc …. This test minefield is going to be left intact for a long period, in order to be able to perform multiple runs on it. For the test campaign of the year 2000, the core sensors were a metal detector, a ground penetrating radar, a microwave radiometer, and thermal infrared imagers. Later, other (more experimental) detectors will also be tested on the same test minefield. The first data sets are in the process of being released right now.