Use of fiducials and unsurveyed landmarks as geolocation tools in vehicular-based landmine search

When searching for land mines using vehicular-mounted sensors, it is important that the ground locations of the detected mines be accurately determined. This is useful for data association when one has multiple looks at a mine by a single sensor or if one uses multiple sensors. It is of ultimate importance for the primary mission, which is to neutralize the detected mines or mark them for avoidance. This paper addresses the use of surveyed landmarks, i.e., fiducials, as well as unsurveyed but visible landmarks within the sensor field of view for improving the geolocation accuracy. Preliminary results show that in fact geolocation accuracy can be improved significantly by using these tools. The method is primarily applicable to combat situations where a road is to be cleared for advancing troops and equipment. This is in contrast to humanitarian demining where one has more time and can approach suspected landmines from different viewpoints.