It may not be a huge issue here in the USA, but land mines and
IEDs remaining a serious global problem. There have been many
efforts to develop new technology to detect these dangers, such
as using terahertz waves and inkjet-printable sensors. But
instead of relying on the development of new technology, some
students at the Military University of Technology in Warsaw have
sought to use an existing one in a new way with the development
of their SAPER explosives detection app for smartphones. “Saper”
is the Polish term for “minesweeper” and, at the same time, an
acronym for “Sensor Amplified Perception For Explosives
Recognition.” The aptly named application uses the magnetometer
– normally responsible for your phone’s compass-like
functionality – to detect minute disturbances in the magnetic
field around an explosive material. Forty different kinds of
explosive materials can be sniffed out from 30 cm (11.8 inches)
away. The app connects to a cloud-based server and compares the
recorded magnetic disturbance sig