Importance

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Abstract

A hand-held prodder capable of distinguishing inert rock from potentially hazardous landmines or other unknown objects. The prodder comprises a rod which is placed into contact with an unknown object. A high frequency acoustic wave is introduced into the rod and it is reflected back as an elastic wave. The wave is converted to a signal and is processed to determine values representative of the wave's phase shift, characteristic of the object. Different materials exhibit different acoustic characteristics and alter the wave's phase shift. The phase shift of the wave for an object contact is mixed with the phase shift of a wave for a non-contact for obtaining a solution which isolates the shift due to the object, less the rod's influence. By comparing the phase shift solution against pre-determined solution levels obtained from contact data for known materials, inert rocks are distinguishable from potentially hazardous plastic or metallic objects. Visual or audible signals inform the user whether a rock (safe) or an unidentified (unsafe) object was contacted.

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First Claim