Press
Plowing Minefields into Cornfields
June 9, 2003, Business Week, By Christina Passariello
Land mines pose a lingering threat -- beyond risks to life and limb. Strewn across farm lands, mines can cause famine by making fields unusable. That's why high hopes are riding on the Obstacle Removal And Clean Land Equipment (ORACLE).
Built by Countermine Technologies and Caterpillar (CAT ) Inc. of the U.S. using one of Cat's off-the-rack loaders, ORACLE costs 1/100 as much as a military system to set up and run. Girded by steel-plated armor and fueled by a tow-along power plant, it uses a massive sharp-toothed rotor to shred mines before they go off -- or if not, simply to smother the explosion. What's more, ORACLE tills the ground as it traverses the field. In Croatia, says Lars Nylin, managing director of Countermine, "the farmers always throw us a party."
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