Networked Cooperative Swarm System for Area Denial Operations

Anti-Personnel Landmines (APL) indiscriminately injure or kill thousands of innocent non-combatants every year, and the United States is committed to eliminating their use. Therefore, technology that replaces the military capability of APL is highly desired by the defense industry. Here, a solution is proposed for an anti-vehicle landmine (AVL) system called the Cooperative AVL Self-Defending Minefield that consists of a team of networked mobile landmines. These mines will collaborate to create an optimal minefield spacing, and will reconfigure the minefield to fill gaps in the event an opposing force attempts to breach it. Details of the mobile mine prototype, and the optimization strategy are described. This technology satisfies the requirements of the international Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, known as the Ottawa Treaty, while promising an effective military capability. The project resulted in the development and successful test of a 4-member cooperative minefield system that was able to reconfigure itself to close gaps created by simulated breaching operations.