The Tiramisu project was presented in the framework of the 10th edition of the IARP Workshop HUDEM 2012 in Šibenik

Tiramisu in the IARP Workshop HUDEM 2012

The 10th edition of the International Advanced Robotics Programme (IARP) Workshop HUDEM 2012 took place on 24-26 April in Šibenik (Croatia) and was dedicated to Robotics and Mechanical Assistance in Humanitarian Demining and Similar Risky Interventions issues. During the event, the EU Initiative TIRAMISU (Toolbox Implementation for Removal of Anti-Personnel Mines, Sub munitions and UXO) was presented to participants.

A representative of the TIRAMISU consortium, composed by 24 EU partners, had the opportunity to present the first approaches related to the tools developed by the project at their development stage. End-users such as Mine Action Authorities, Specialized Companies, UN Responsibles and delegates from the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), among others stakeholders, followed these first results.

The TIRAMISU project aims at providing the ground for a global toolbox that will cover the main mine action activities, from the survey of large areas to the actual disposal of explosive hazards, including mine risk education. The toolbox shaped by the project will provide mine action actors with a large set of tools grouped into thematic modules. Hence, Croatia, a country where demining tools of TIRAMISU will be tested, validated and possibly accredited, was selected as key scenario for the workshop allowing also for a possible future cooperation with R&D Centers and internationally recognized stakeholders.

Moreover, the IARP Workshop HUNDEM 2012 was organised to review and discuss the available technologies in Robotics and Mechanical Assistance in Humanitarian Demining, their limitations, adaptability to different environmental calamities -natural or artificial- and the development efforts to automate tasks related to detection/ intervention processes wherever this is possible through the use of Robotic Systems and other technologies.

It is worth mentioning that this 10^th edition of IARP Workshop took place together with the 9^th International Symposium “Humanitarian Demining and Equipment Exhibition 2012”.

Croatia as a key scenario

As part of this project some of the Tiramisu tools and technologies will be operationally validated in Croatia, and only after this certification step is over, it will be possible to validate the tools and technologies in the mine fields.

For this reason the Tiramisu partners had the opportunity to visit the Validation Testing Site of Cerovak, a visit followed by a systematic review of the TIRAMISU validation scenario. A first partial validation of non-technical survey tools has currently started, conducted by FGUNIZ and CTDT, in Padjene where this country suffered an explosion of ammunition storage last September 2011.

The current demining actions in Croatia, a future member of the EU, still need to be reinforced, specially for the security of the European borders.