IOS. Inc.

It is said that the number of antipersonnel landmines buried on the earth is 70 million to 100 million. Even after wars and conflicts are over and soldiers leave the land, landmines remain there, continuing to threaten the lives of residents. In recent years, 6,000 to 8,000 accidents have been occurring annually. Most of the victims are ordinary citizens, half of whom are children. As we speak, deminers (demining workers) of each country are searching for landmines by prodding the ground with a prodder (wooden stick) and a shovel, taking a risk that they come into close contact with buried landmines. It is said that it will take as many as 1,000 years to clear all landlines buried on the earth if this old-fashioned demining style continues.

We, IOS, have been working on the development of DMR (Demining Robot) to eradicate human damages caused by dangerous and inefficient manual demining work and speed up the work in collaboration with CMAC (Cambodian Mine Action Centre), the governmental agency of Cambodia playing the central role in demining activities in Cambodia. In November 2022, demining activities using DMR are scheduled to begin in Siem Reap Province of Cambodia after five years of the development period of the prototypes.
After DMR is put to practical use in Cambodia, IOS will supply and sell DMR to landmine-afflicted countries and landmine clearance organizations across the world and turn demining work that will last for a long period of time into a safe and less time-consuming one.

The regional economy is exhausted because the landmine issue has been hindering development. Since 2020, IOS has been working on the “Revitalization Plan of Minefield Sites” to contribute to the economic recovery of rural areas, where demining processes tend to fall behind. In 2022, as the first project, we developed the farmland for the prickly pear and started the business to supply high-value seed oil and skin lotion to the markets of developed countries.