The proliferation of landmines in war-stricken countries is a massive hurdle to sustainable development, as they are often hidden in farmland, paths to schools and other areas of countryside.

Now, Demine Robotics – the product of a Cambodian-Canadian engineering team from the University of Waterloo – has come up with an unmanned excavation robot prototype which makes demining safer and more efficient. They are currently working out of the SISU at the National University of Management in Phnom Penh.

Meet their small, unmanned excavator robot prototype – “Jevit” (meaning life in Khmer). It is blast protected by metal plating and can be used as a platform for multiple detection equipment and robotic manipulators to handle UXOs.

While thus far they’ve been able to make huge progress with very limited resources, prototyping machines isn’t cheap. Every little bit helps them get closer to saving land, limbs and lives.

Find more information, and help them out with their crowdfunding here!