This low-cost, wind-powered minesweeper aims to eradicate land mines globally

‘Mine Kafon’ is made from just bamboo and biodegradable plastic and moves with the wind

‘Mine Kafon’ is made from just bamboo and biodegradable plastic and moves with the wind

Inspired by the homemade wind-powered toys he made during his childhood in Afghanistan, Massoud Hassani created the ‘Mine Kafon’, a wind-powered landmine detector, whose name actually means ‘Let the mines explode’. The device was originally designed for his graduation project at the Design Academy Eindhoven, The Netherlands in 2011. Since then, ‘Mine Kafon’ rapidly gained interest in the media and in 2012, after the realization of a Kickstarter campaign that raised nearly $150,000, Hassani launched the prototype as a prominent piece of landmine clearing technology. In 2013, the company Hassani Design BV was also established.

The actual problem

Growing in an area close to land mines and witnessing numerous accidents, Hassani is now determined to solve the landmine problem globally within the next 10 years. The facts are socking: 10 people are killed or maimed by land mines every day. More than 110 million landmines are currently scattered around the world and 10 million of them are in Afghanistan.

‘Mine Kafon’

His solution is a spherical device made of 175 bamboo legs and biodegradable, lightweight plastic. It is easily pushed by the wind through dangerous areas, triggering and blowing up land mines in its path. While some of its legs are destroyed along with each mine, it can withstand up to four explosions before losing its ability to roll further, according to Hassani. ‘Mine Kafon’ also features a GPS chip and has been tested with the Dutch army. This lifesaving design has been shortlisted as a finalist for the 2013 INDEX: Award. 

‘Mine Kafon Drone’

In 2016, Hassani introduced the ‘Mine Kafon Drone’, a new robotic invention. Flying above a dangerous area, it generates 3D maps and detects land mines using a metal detector and GPS coordinates. Then, with the help of a robotic arm, it places a small detonator on every detected mine, which is triggered by a timer, causing it to explode after the drone is safely out of its reach. According to the inventor, the process is much safer than traditional technologies, 20 times faster and 200 times cheaper. A crowdfunding campaign for the drone started in July, 2016 and reached its original goal in just 10 days!