Sensors, drones, and artificial intelligence: How innovations accelerate land demining in Ukraine

Ukraine is currently the most mined country in the world. According to the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, as of the end of 2024, a total of 138,500 square kilometres of land was potentially contaminated. With traditional demining methods, it would take almost a century to clear the land of explosive ordnance.

However, innovative remote explosive detection technologies can significantly speed up this process. Ukrainian developers are already creating unique solutions that combine different types of sensors with artificial intelligence to search for dangerous objects effectively.

In the first article of the special partnership project between LIGA.net and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine, we described how the new humanitarian demining market was launched in Ukraine and how international partners are helping the country in this field.

Our second article focuses on the development of demining technologies and how they can accelerate the demining of Ukrainian territories.

Sensor technologies in humanitarian demining

In May 2024, UNDP conducted a large-scale test of various types of sensors for detecting explosive devices. The test results showed that high-resolution cameras, thermal sensors, and magnetometer-based technologies are the most effective.

Each type of sensor has its advantages and limitations. High-sensitivity optical cameras mounted on drones are effective at detecting objects on the surface. However, their use can be hampered by vegetation or other obstacles. Magnetometers are capable of detecting mines and other unexploded ordnance containing metal, but their effectiveness is reduced by the presence of debris, including metal, in the soil and the high mineralization of Ukrainian land. Detecting plastic mines with minimal metal content is also particularly challenging.

"We’re now coming to the point where we need to develop technologies that combine different sensors, as there’s no universal tool that can work with any type of explosive object," explains UNDP mine action specialist Edward Crowther.

Remote detection technologies for hazardous objects are being actively developed in Ukraine. In particular, the State Emergency Service (SES) is using satellite imagery to identify potentially contaminated areas, which allows for more efficient demining planning and prioritization. Most humanitarian demining operators use drones with optical cameras and artificial intelligence systems for image processing. Artificial intelligence can significantly speed up the data analysis process.

"So far, artificial intelligence has been used mainly to process visual data," says Crowther. "For example, when a drone flies over a certain area that is suspected of being contaminated, it takes hundreds, perhaps thousands of different pictures. Then they need to be checked for signs of certain explosive objects – anti-personnel mines, for example. (The use of AI) leads to a significant increase in productivity in processing such images, because an AI-based machine can process these images much faster and more accurately than a human."

At the same time, Crowther emphasizes that despite all the successes of artificial intelligence, a human being must always be included in the data processing process to verify the information. After all, humanitarian demining is primarily about ensuring human safety.

"In August, UNDP, together with the Ministry of Economy, trained ten veterans with disabilities to become visual data analysts," Crowther adds. "Seven of them are already working in their speciality, and five of them are employed by The HALO Trust (the largest international non-profit organization engaged in humanitarian demining – ed.), where they work on data analysis. This not only helps with demining but also facilitates the reintegration of veterans into civilian life by giving them the opportunity to apply their skills to an important cause."

According to Crowther, Ukraine has become a testing ground for the development of innovative demining technologies. By combining international experience and local innovations, effective solutions are being created to overcome unprecedented challenges in the field of demining.

"The developments of Ukrainian specialists and methodologies created to address humanitarian demining in Ukraine will change this area at the global scale," Crowther says. "The technologies being developed in Ukraine will undoubtedly be used in this activity around the world and will lead to significant changes."

Testing sensor technologies in Ukraine

In Ukraine, experts from various fields, including mining, IT, and even archaeology, are applying their knowledge to the development of technologies for remotely detecting explosive ordnance. Their proposals, and the ideas of international companies, are being tested on training grounds and under real conditions in the field. Even at this early stage, some of the results are already impressive.

In particular, during the aforementioned tests in May 2024, in which seven Ukrainian and international teams participated, some companies managed to detect 78% of the hazardous items on the surface, about 70% of those underground, and 62% of the plastic items.

According to Kateryna Drozd, project manager for innovation at the Mine Action Support Team at the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, this summer tests were also conducted in real conditions in the Kamyanka community in Kharkiv Oblast, which was under occupation for about five months in 2022. The territory was heavily contaminated with PFM-1 anti-personnel mines, which are difficult to detect due to their plastic body and small size.

"We do a lot of testing," Drozd notes. "The best companies that show good results are then invited to carry out real work and collaborate with various demining operators."

At the same time, for such technologies to work quickly and correctly, the artificial intelligence that processes the images must be able to recognize explosive objects quickly and correctly. The Ministry of Economy is currently working on a database of common explosive items that will help developers train their technologies.

"You can combine sensors, but if there’s no database, it won’t work, unfortunately," explains Drozd. "We can't just take photos from the Internet and train an artificial intelligence, because there are a lot of modifications, and more of them appear every day. That's why lots of Ukrainian developers are working with the State Emergency Service, the State Special Transport Service, and operators in the fields so they can see everything live and create this database."

At the same time, standardization and certification are serious challenges for Ukraine in developing sensor technologies for detecting dangerous objects. As of today, there are no international standards for the use of sensor technologies to detect explosive devices – evidence is still being collected to determine in which cases certain technologies can be used.

"We have to remember that humanitarian demining is, first and foremost, about people's lives, and we cannot certify equipment that provides only 78% detection," says Drozd.

"We have to reach the maximum. Perhaps it will be 99% rather than 100%, but it’s important to specify where and in what cases we can use this technology. When it comes to where we can’t use it, it’s more about regions, territory, soil types, air temperature, and time. Daytime and nighttime (demining) also require different technologies. All these points need to be specified."

Remote detection of explosive devices will speed up demining

The development of remote explosive ordnance detection technologies will help Ukraine develop a clear system for prioritizing land for humanitarian demining – the process of identifying the most important areas that need to be cleared of explosive ordnance first. However, lots of factors need to be taken into account when assigning a degree of priority to a site, including the level of contamination, population size, and the economic and environmental importance of the site.

The Ukrainian Researchers Society is actively working in this direction. With the support of the FAO, they have created a map of craters and soil damage for Kharkiv Oblast, and are now expanding their work to Mykolaiv and Kherson oblasts.

"Thanks to their expertise and scientific background, we have information on the migration of pollutants," explains Olena Pareniuk, coordinator of mine action prioritization projects at the Ministry of Economy. "For example, we can predict the levels of contamination of food products grown on certain types of contaminated land. If the same contaminant is found, for example, in chernozem (black earth) and sand, then products grown in sand will be more contaminated. Having information about craters and the migration of pollutants, we can estimate the level of impact on a territory and its agricultural products. And if this impact is less in a certain area, we prioritize it."

The land prioritization system is currently under development. According to Pareniuk, a pilot project is being launched in Kharkiv Oblast, with six organizations working to create a priority map. After the full prioritization algorithm is developed, it is planned to be legalized by adopting an experimental resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers.

"Our goal is to help bring more land back into economic activity as soon as possible," says Pareniuk. "And if we first check a territory that is most likely not contaminated and generate income, we will return more land to economic activity faster."

Performance of Ukrainian companies

Ukraine is actively developing innovative solutions for humanitarian demining. Among the prominent players in this market are the charitable foundation Postup and the company UADamage, which have created their own systems for the remote detection of explosive objects.

Postup Foundation started working on mine detection systems in the summer of 2022.

"Traditional demining tools and standards … will not help solve a problem of this magnitude in an adequate time frame," says Vlad Kozak, Postup's founder.

Postup has developed a system based on an agrodrone with a magnetometer that can detect metal objects to depths of 3-3.5 meters, and large ammunition even to depths of 5-7 meters. The design is unique in that the sensors are specially mounted at a distance from the drone, which minimizes the impact of metal parts of the device itself on the measurements.

The system uses a combination of different technologies: a magnetometer to search for metal objects, conventional RGB cameras, and multispectral cameras. As Kozak explains, the RGB cameras allow for the visual detection of mines and explosive objects, and identification can be easily automated using artificial intelligence. In contrast, multispectral cameras are able to detect objects on and close to the surface, as well as separate the objects from the background based on their physical properties. For example, metal or plastic heats up and cools down faster than vegetation, so they are clearly visible in the infrared range on warm sunny days.

"The magnetometer itself allows us to (detect) about 70% of the mines and ammunition that may be on the ground or underground," Kozak says. "Of course, it’s not a panacea for all problems, because there are plastic mines as well. That’s why we’re working on a solution that combines different sensors. A magnetometer is one of the methods, but we also use optical methods. So now, thanks to all the methods, we can detect 93% of the explosive objects on a site."

The company is paying particular attention to the development of artificial intelligence for data analysis. Currently, the company uses artificial intelligence to analyse visual data and is working to train artificial intelligence on magnetometer data.

"It’s important to train the neural network to recognize not only standard ammunition but also improvised explosive devices and booby traps set by the enemy," Kozak says. "We’re currently at the stage of developing such a prototype solution for artificial intelligence. We’ve trained our algorithms to distinguish between the most common mines: TM-62s, OZM-72s, MON-50s, anti-personnel mines (PMNs), and high-explosive anti-personnel mines (PFMs)."

UADamage initially focused on collecting data and analysing infrastructure damage caused by hostilities. Then employees of the company witnessed two vehicles being blown up in Kherson Oblast within a single day.

"I realized that without demining, no one will return to these areas, and there will be no reconstruction," says Vitaliy Lopushanskyi, the founder of UADamage.

"So we need to help with demining, because one person with a conventional metal detector can cover no more than 100 square meters a day, which is very slow."

UADamage uses DJI Matrice 30 and Matrice 300 industrial drones equipped with various sensors: conventional and infrared cameras, multispectral cameras, magnetometers, and GPR. The company has also developed a self-propelled ground unit for working in hard-to-reach places.

According to Lopushanskyi, on average, one drone can survey up to five hectares of territory during daylight hours, and up to 10 hectares in optimal conditions. The collected data is processed using artificial intelligence and displayed on a special platform that shows a map of the mined territory. UADamage is also developing a land prioritization system in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy and UNDP.

"We created a map of craters using satellite data," explains Lopushanskyi. "We overlay this information with cadastral data and registers and get a probability map of mines in Ukraine."

The system is currently in test mode, and its full implementation is planned for 2025, with continuous integration of data from all available sources.

Both Postup and UADamage are cooperating with the SES and international partners, conducting tests in various regions of Ukraine. Their developments could make an important contribution to the global practice of humanitarian demining. In particular, they are actively working on fully automating the demining process.

"This is one of the most dangerous professions in the world, and our goal is to minimize the risks to people as much as possible," says Lopushanskyi.

Another important aspect is the cost of demining. According to Kozak, traditional methods cost from $3,000 to $5,000 per hectare, which often exceeds the commercial value of the land itself. This figure is based on the experience of demining operators who use mechanized demining methods. The use of new technologies can reduce these costs to $600-800 per hectare, making the process economically viable.

Towards a secure future

The development of technologies for the remote detection of explosive hazards is critically important for Ukraine. Combining various types of sensors, drones, and artificial intelligence could significantly accelerate the demining process and make it safer for deminers. Ukrainian companies are creating unique solutions that will not only help clear territories in the country, but also change the approach to humanitarian demining at a global scale. This gives hope that the restoration of safe living conditions in mine-contaminated areas will be possible in a much shorter timeframe.