BCIT Partners With Alliance Enterprise Corp on Landmine Detection

Burnaby, British Columbia (ots/PRNewswire) -

- Education and Industry Come Together to Develop Better
Technologies to Find Landmines

The British Columbia Institute of Technology and The Alliance
Enterprise Corporation have come together to develop new technologies
for the detection of landmines around the world.

The United Nations estimates that more than 100 million landmines
are currently undetected in dozens of countries, many having
histories of political and civil unrest, and the use of landmines
continues to threaten innocent people who are injured or killed when
they accidentally detonate a hidden landmine. A further 180 million
landmines may be still be stockpiled around the world.

BCIT has entered an agreement with The Alliance Enterprise
Corporation, in conjunction with Roke Manor Research Ltd, a Siemens
company in the United Kingdom, to research and develop a more
accurate method to detect and, as the technology grows, disarm
landmines. Most detection and removal is currently done by hand or
with dogs which is time-consuming and inefficient.

"We are in the very early phase of this exciting agreement," says
Lane Trotter, dean of BCIT's School of Transportation, "but this
partnership marks the start of a relationship with Alliance
Enterprise that will not only benefit BCIT by providing research and
educational opportunities, but will have a positive impact in the
many areas of the world affected by landmines."

Building on the existing technology of Alliance's Landmine Locator
(LML) airborne carrier, BCIT will conduct research to develop a
sensor platform which will be attached to the LML, a 40-foot
inflatable structure called a Hystar that is capable of flying at
very low altitudes. This system will be mobile and each field unit
will require two to three people to manage each unit. These workers
will manage the flight system remotely, thereby decreasing the risk
to those who search for landmines.

"Not only are we pleased to partner with BCIT on developing this
technology, we are thrilled to be working with an institute of BCIT's
calibre as a leader in training to, in the future, provide all of the
necessary instruction for this vital equipment, on an international
scale," says George Ninkovich, CEO of The Alliance Enterprise
Corporation.

The British Columbia Institute of Technology is the largest post-
secondary institution in British Columbia and Canada's leading
polytechnic institute, with more than 48,000 full and part-time
students pursuing a variety of polytechnic programs leading to
degrees, diplomas, and certificates in the areas of business,
computing, trades, engineering and health sciences.

The Alliance Enterprise Corporation, based in California with an
international office in Vancouver, was founded by Mr. Ninkovich and
is a leader in developing aerial solutions for industries ranging
from forestry to security.

ots Originaltext: BCIT (British Columbia Institute of Technology)
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
For further information: Allison Markin, Media Relations Manager,
BCIT, Tel. +1-(604)-432-8773, Cell +1-(604)-836-6700,
allison_markin@bcit.ca; Diane Hunt, Media Relations, Alliance
Enterprise Corp, Tel. +1-(604)-601-2099, diane@taecorp.com