Former refugees Massoud and Mahmud Hassani stunned the world three years ago with an invention like a dandelion puffball that sought to rid the world of landmines.
Now the Afghan brothers are back with their latest creation: a low-cost drone to detect and destroy mines, which each year claim thousands of lives.
Ridding the world of their childhood horror has become the life work of the Hassanis, who now live in the Netherlands.
In 2013, they won worldwide acclaim for the “mine kafon” – a giant ball shaped like a dandelion-seed head that rolls around with the wind, its plastic stalks tripping landmines in the process.
Inspired by their childhood toys, the kafon – short for “kafondan” which in the Hassanis’ native Dari language means “something that explodes” – drew high praise from anti-landmine organisations.
Now their latest mine-hunting device combines drone technology, 3D printing and robotics with a metal detector to find and ultimately destroy landmines.