The Ministry of Economy reports that the second phase of testing sensors for detecting mines and explosive remnants of war has been completed.
During the testing, the teams detected over 60% of the dangerous items, both on the surface and beneath the ground.
These results will form the basis for creating a standard for using sensors in humanitarian demining.
“Over the past year, we have seen significant progress by Ukrainian teams in developing detection technologies.
The number of sensors in the second phase and the quality of neural networks analyzing the collected data have increased. Notably, three teams demonstrated a high level of detection of plastic items.
It is a significant challenge for deminers, and using sensors will make clearing Ukrainian fields safer for them,” said Ihor Bezkrovainyi, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine.
He added that the tests brought the country closer to creating a standard for using sensor technologies in the non-technical phase of contaminated areas clearance.
Both Ukrainian and international companies participated in the tests. The teams demonstrated the effective integration of electro-optical sensors with artificial intelligence and machine learning systems.
The Ministry of Economy said that seven organizations tested their developments on an area of 1.44 hectares, where 27 mines, cluster munitions, and unexploded ordnance were placed—both on the surface and underground—to create conditions as similar as possible to mined areas in Ukraine. The participants managed to detect 78% of explosive items on the surface, about 70% of metallic and buried items, as well as 62% of plastic items.
The UNDP Mine Action Project and the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine organized the tests. The second phase continued a series of tests conducted in Ukraine in the summer of 2023, supported by Croatia, France, Malta, the Netherlands, and Sweden.
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