Artificial intelligence against mines: Ukraine will create a database of innovative data
6 May 10:56
Ukraine’s first AI Labeling Sprint hackathon took place in Kyiv, the practical stage of an initiative to create a training database for detecting explosive objects using drones and artificial intelligence. This was reported by the Ministry of Economy, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
During the day, more than 50 students from technical universities of Ukraine identified thousands of images of explosive objects obtained from UAV sensors during field work. The students worked in ten teams, competing with each other in the speed and quality of data annotation.
According to Ihor Bezkaravaynyi, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine, the goal is to create the foundation for Ukraine’s first database that will train artificial intelligence to detect mines.
“What started as an experiment – “let’s try it” – has grown into a full-fledged project with international support and real results. Collecting data is only half the battle. Now it’s important to process it properly, teach AI to recognize danger and automate life-saving processes,” the official emphasized.
The information collected in the field and identified during the hackathon will become the basis for training artificial intelligence algorithms. This, in turn, will help accelerate the pace of demining in Ukraine and make the process more efficient and technologically advanced.
The winning team, Smart Hackers, received a cash certificate for $2,000 with the support of UNDP Ukraine and the Government of Luxembourg.
The event was co-organized by UADamage, a Ukrainian company that uses satellite imagery and artificial intelligence to digitize mined areas.
Earlier, it was reported that an initiative to create an “innovation hub” was launched to unite the efforts of all stakeholders in implementing the latest technologies for demining the de-occupied territories of Ukraine. The initiator was the Ministry of Economy, and the Ministry of Defense declared its intention to join the implementation of this idea. This will allow to form a “bank of technologies in the field of mine action” and prioritize them for implementation and scaling in the country.
Demining technologies will be tested at a training ground
The Ministry of Defense has initiated the creation of a system of training grounds for testing the latest demining technologies.
The initiative envisages the creation of specialized testing areas (for explosive, water, dynamic tests), a laboratory and analytical base for research and testing, an educational center for training specialists, including international trainings, a platform for testing and approval of new technologies for use.
It is noted that the central element of the future infrastructure will be the Training and Testing Complex for the development of the latest technologies and innovations in the field of mine action, civil protection and environmental safety.
Ukrainian companies have already joined the demining effort
Equipment manufacturers and mine action operators are looking for ways to speed up the demining process and make it more environmentally friendly. We are talking about special drones and machine modernization. For example, a modernized tractor that works through Starlink. The rotor rotates sideways, so the entire field is surveyed in a circle. Yan Artyukhov, head of mechanized demining at the Demining Ukraine Charitable Foundation, told Novyny Donbas that this equipment does not destroy ammunition but picks it up, which is important from an environmental perspective.
Another already certified development is the “Snake” demining drone by Rover Tech. According to the Ministry of Economy, this machine is capable of destroying anti-personnel and anti-tank mines and removing tripwires. “The Snake is a unique solution in Ukrainian conditions, a new subclass of demining machine that can clear fields of shrapnel and high-explosive munitions, which are the most commonly used by sappers.
Oleksandr Lysikov, director of Dropla, also believes that robots, not people, should help demine Ukraine. That is why the Danish-Ukrainian company Dropla develops advanced technological solutions – flocks of drones, robotics, artificial intelligence systems and software.
“We use different sensors. The main idea is that the top drone flies overhead, we attach sensors, various sensors to it, scan the territory, identify safe and dangerous areas. For safe areas where we have found nothing – no metal debris, mines, or explosive devices – we build a map and show that it is a safe area. We also launch lower drones – if we make a mistake somewhere, the drone will suffer, not the person. In this way, we speed up the demining process and save resources,” says Lysikov.
In other words, drones equipped with optical, magnetic and electromagnetic sensors detect mines or provide information that there are no explosive objects.
