Drones and AI Could Locate Land Mines in Ukraine

Nov 25, 2023 ·

Recent advances in artificial intelligence, robotics, and drone technology have created a new opportunity to address one of the world's deadliest problems—land mines. In Ukraine alone, land mines are responsible for the deaths of over 10,000 people since the start of the conflict in 2014, leaving countless more with life-changing injuries. Now, researchers from British charity HALO Trust, along with Ukrainian AI firm Parity are developing a system that uses drones and AI to detect and remove land mines.

The team is using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with high-resolution cameras to scan the land and detect potential hazards. Special computer vision algorithms then analyze the images and detect any suspicious objects or anomalies. The data collected by the drones is used to generate three-dimensional maps of the area, which are then fed into a machine learning algorithm to compare against a digital terrain model of the area to identify possible land mine locations.

Once identified, the land mine sites will be checked on the ground by human operators. If it turns out there’s really a mine, it will be safely removed and safely disposed of. The team believes this process could help significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to clear a minefield, and could eventually lead to a complete end of land mines in the region.

The project is still in its early stages, but the team says they’ve already had quite a bit of success in their initial tests. They’re now looking to scale up their operations, and hope to eventually cover large portions of the country. This would not only save lives, but would also create economic opportunities in parts of the country that are still too dangerous for humans to venture into.

Ultimately, the team hopes to see a future where land mines are a thing of the past, and drones and AI can provide an effective method of locating and removing these deadly devices before they can cause any harm.