The creation of a testing ground for the use of artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies in the field of mine action has begun in Ukraine.
As stated in the message of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the department and partners have identified a place where a testing ground for the latest demining technologies will be created.
Representatives of the Main Department of Mine Action, Civil Protection and Environmental Safety, the United Nations Development Program, the Ministry of Economy, and the National Association of Defense Industries visited the location of the future testing ground and discussed the prospects for its use for testing advanced technologies.
"This is the first step within the initiative to create an innovative testing ground. Together with partners, we have identified key areas of further work and made a decision to create a training and testing complex for the development of technologies in the field of mine action, where not only will technologies be modernized, but a bank of innovative solutions will also be formed," said Olga Drobot, a representative of the Main Department of Mine Action.
The Ministry of Defense noted that representatives of the United Nations Development Program and the Ministry of Economy expressed interest in developing this project as a basis for forming a platform for innovations in humanitarian demining. Ahead is the creation of a roadmap, the formation of a working group, and preparation for the first tests.
According to Olga Drobot, as previously reported, the latest technologies and their development allow significantly accelerating the process of non-technical survey of territories, and therefore humanitarian demining, and reducing risks for the civilian population.
Specialists are also going to introduce new approaches to analyzing satellite and aerial images for mapping mined areas, as well as using neural networks for automatic minefield recognition and integrating modern artificial intelligence algorithms into planning and safe demining processes.
As we wrote earlier, in 2024 the Ministry of Economy signed an agreement with Palantir, which will help demine the territory of Ukraine using AI. Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko stated at the time that currently 156,000 square kilometers of land are potentially contaminated, with more than 6 million Ukrainians at risk.
Read: How the agricultural company "NIBULON" will use AI in mine clearance