Metal detecting drones look for mines flying over Ukrainian farms

A humanitarian demining fund demined farm fields in Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region a few kilometres from the Russian border on Sunday (October 1) as farmers all over the country started sowing winter wheat.

The charitable fund 'Demining of Ukraine' used a large agricultural drone carrying a metal detector to detect mines in fields owned by 'Agroinvest' near Derhachi.

Ievhen Poliachenko, a geophysicist at Ukraine's Academy of Sciences and a demining volunteer, said that their metal detector could detect iron-containing objects even up to half a metre underground, and that a drone detected mines faster than sappers with the usual detecting equipment.

He added that it was a first for his fund that sappers immediately retrieved the mines after they were detected, considerably shortening the time span of the demining process.

The head of the sappers unit, Jan Artiukhov, explained that the fund's goal is to develop a fast and reliable demining "algorithm" with drones and sappers. He added they had partially tested it when demining fields in the southern Mykolaiv region earlier this year.

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[biochemistryconcepts]

Nice innovation .An effective use of available tools👍

[raksmose]

Its a genius idea. Bravo to Ukrainians. War has damaged your country but believe me you will be stronger than what u believe afterwards. I had thought about this long ago but u are very far ahead now.

[philliphall]

I hope this works great and saves lives 😊😊😊
Praying for Ukraine 🇺🇦 ❤❤❤

[UndergroundMetalDetecting]

Great location shot! 📸💥 Happy Hunting! ⛏️💍💰
(fellow detectorists in Buffalo NY)

[czechmix]

God bless the Ukrainian Sappers and the new technologies that will make demining faster, safer and more effective. They are literally preparing the ground for the free future of a fully restored Ukraine! Slava Ukraini!

[nichollswilliam]

Interesting, like to have seen a bit more. It's good to see the clean up work, as well as the conflict.

[gutstompenrocker]

It's a lot easier to use thermal imaging and look for them right after sunset. The mines change temperature at a different rate than the surrounding terrain and are pretty easy to spot.

[eifelsucher]

The idea is obvious, but the implementation and the result are likely to be very unsatisfactory.
This only works on tank mines or other larger UXO because magnetometers only detect iron and only larger iron objects from this height.
Apart from that, the GPS has to be very accurate, which is an advantage for the ordnance disposal unit.
I think the developers should be more concerned with other things...

[JoeyBlogs]

They just need to build on this idea. automate the GPS grid scanning and GPS mine marking etc...

[anegoggle]

A small suggestion, this drone should be able to drop a flag to show each mine's position.

[letsdiy]

Great work guys! When your collecting all this data you should also notice the pattern you find them in. As a soldier you want to be as fast as posible so you work a grid where you plase the explosives a sertain way or in a sertain pattern. I can promiss you that the Russians have laid there mines in the same way in a lot of places, it wouldnt surprice me at all.

[Aaronsmith-cuii]

Drones certainly are the future and not just for military purposes. After this tragedy and when the Ukrainian fight the new war of reconstruction they just like the Cambodians will become the world leaders in de-mining

[jimmyyager]

Soon mines will be 3d print made, I have used them making auto parts, very strong plastic.

[ArghansMordonMarghek]

If they couldn’t add a delivery system, that would spray a reasonable sized, water resistant, spot of highly visible paint(uv?), at the centre of the position of a suspected mine, then it would make it easy to find, even if the people who are de-mining the area are a few days behind the detection equipment…….

[yolisurich]

What was that blue thing moving through the brush?

[PobegayloVladimir]

A great way to warn orcs in advance about the direction and place of overcoming minefields 😂

[bikexploration]

Way to much effort just create a strong magnet flying drone so when the magnet fly's 2 meters above the ground the magnet will explode. Another one is when evening hits check the ground with warmth camera's so you can see the mines (This works only on warm days).🤗

[tyrannus_tyrannus]

Flying mines? What's next, flying pigs?

[alex_isaev]

❗️На опознание❗️

Шесть новых доброчубов из противотанкового взвода с Артемовского направления, которых солдаты ВС РФ вывели из под минометного обстрела ВСУ. Не первый и похоже не последний случай, когда украинские подразделения открывают прицельный огонь по своим же, а российские военнослужащие их спасают. Вот и получается, что мобочубам гораздо лучше сложить оружие и поднять ✋🤚, чем надеяться на свое командование и «побратымов»

«Обращались нормально, накормили, напоили…Мы противотанковый взвод, кинули как пехоту, на мясо просто. Вот так вот восемь человек…В ночь…Куда ползти куда идти ничего не понятно, ни воды, ни хавать, ни бк…»

[mijead]

Put a laser om the drones, and blown away the mines