United to win: Danish-Ukrainian startup combines robotics and neural networks to solve demining issue in Ukraine
Dropla drone. Photo: Dropla Tech
A technology startup from Denmark and Ukraine is tackling the issue of clearing mines from Ukrainian territory using robotics and neural networks.
Odense Robotics, the company that offered the startup financial support and technical guidance, reported this.
What is the problem?
According to reports, it will take more than 70 years and 33.5 billion euros to demine the 144,000 square kilometers of mined territory in Ukraine using modern demining technologies.
"Today, Ukraine is the most mined country in the world. The current demining process is painfully slow, dangerous and expensive. Ukraine simply does not have the time to wait or the money to invest," Viacheslav Shvaydak, co-founder and CEO of Dropla Tech ApS, says.
Designation of the territory where humanitarian demining is carried out. Photo: FSD organization
Removing the mines in Ukraine is also a concern for ensuring global food security. Prior to the extensive Russian invasion, Ukraine played a crucial role in supplying food to the world, feeding more than 400 million people and accounting for 10% of all grain sales.
"Today, Russian aggression has caused around 26,000 square kilometers of agricultural land in the liberated areas to be impacted by landmines and unexploded ordnance. This is about half the size of Denmark. Demining efforts are urgently needed in this area as agriculture is a vital source of economic productivity and essential for food security," Shvaydak stresses.
Photo: FREEWAYUA company/
What is the solution?
Therefore, the Danish-Ukrainian technology startup is focused on solving the issue of demining Ukrainian lands using robotics and neural networks.
Several of their technological innovations are already being manufactured and trialed in Ukraine.
How does it work?
According to Shvaydak, the current cost for demining one square meter using existing technologies is roughly 1-3 euros. However, through the implementation of robotics and artificial intelligence, it is possible to expedite the demining process and reduce costs while also improving safety.
Based on the company's projections, the new solution is expected to decrease the expense of demining per square meter to only 10 cents, while also cutting down the time needed for this process from 70 years to 12 years.
The principle of operation of new solutions
Dropla is a tool that helps with demining operations. It uses drone swarm technology with multimodal sensor fusion and a fleet of unmanned ground vehicles to confirm safe areas for clearing landmines.
Dropla drone. Photo: Odense Robotics
Most demining methods typically utilize one drone at a time, but Dropla uses a group of six UAVs at once, enabling it to cover a larger area and at a faster rate of up to 0.5 square kilometers per day.
The drones use optical, magnetic, and electromagnetic sensors to uncover mines, and then transmit the data to a computing station. This station creates a digital map of the area, accurately marking the locations of any potential dangers.
Next, Dropla's drones prepare the soil and remove any vegetation using remote control, ensuring no potential threats are left undetected.
These drones are specifically designed to withstand detonations from any anti-personnel mines that may have been overlooked during the initial survey. This ultimately renders the area safe for sappers to enter and safely conduct demining operations.
Testing in Ukraine
The Ukrainian State Emergency Service and State Special Transport Service are currently conducting tests on Dropla drones.
The Dropla Tech production group in Ukraine manufactures them, and they are priced at just 10,000 euros.
Dropla has trained its neural networks using data from over 300 landmines and UXO, which were collected at their own testing site in Ukraine.
The drone swarm solution is currently in development and is expected to be completed within six months.
For reference:
It is worth noting that Ukraine is one of the world leaders in the development and testing of new technological solutions on the battlefield, in particular, in the use of artificial intelligence in unmanned systems.
It should be noted that the joint project "Drone Force" between the Ministry of Defense and the Ground Forces of Ukraine continued for four days, from July 16 to 19, at the Ukrainian Army Recruiting Center in Lviv. As part of this initiative, interested individuals had the opportunity to take simulator tests and gain knowledge about aircraft, training, and service, as well as potentially join units specializing in unmanned systems.
