| HOKKAIDO, Feb. 24 – A 68-year-old cattle farmer in Hokkaido, Mitsuharu Fukayo, has made a commercially available grass mower into a mine sweeping vehicle for Ukraine. Wheels attached to a remotely controlled vehicle will apply pressure to the ground and let underground mines explode. “I want the war to end soon,” he said, praying for peace.
Fukayo raises 600 dairy cows as a representative of United Farm, a dairy farm corporation in Betsukai Town, Hokkaido. As an amateur developer, he decided to do something to help people suffering in the war in Ukraine and came up with the idea to design this mine-sweeping vehicle. The vehicle is made up of iron wheels in a bloom-shaped frame and a remotely controllable grass mower, which will push the wheels to travel across a minefield. The current prototype has 15 wheels that are 10 centimeters in width and 40 centimeters in diameter alternately attached to the frame. When the machine runs, the wheels are designed to apply pressure to the ground and let the mines explode. He is arranging to hand the machines to Ukrainian agricultural companies as soon as possible after conducting on-site field trials. |