The Halo Trust is utilizing Amazon Web Services’ AI tools to accelerate landmine clearance in Ukraine. With a $4m support package from AWS, the largest humanitarian landmine clearance organization in the world is conducting a pilot project to use AI and machine learning to detect war debris from drone images. By mapping danger areas quickly and efficiently, the Trust aims to prioritize the placement of its resources for landmine clearance.
The ongoing project involves training AI to identify war debris, which requires manual identification and vetting by Trust personnel to enhance accuracy. While landmine clearing projects are ongoing in other countries, Ukraine was chosen for the pilot due to the accessibility of drone footage. The terrain in Ukraine provides valuable data points that can be utilized to improve the technology and potentially extend its use globally.
In addition to the AI pilot, the Halo Trust plans to migrate its land survey data to the AWS cloud. Liam Maxwell of AWS highlighted the company’s collaboration with the Trust as a way to contribute to solving a challenging problem and restoring normalcy to disrupted areas. The success of the pilot will be measured by the Trust’s ability to create a detailed map of hazardous areas, accurately estimate the cost of clearance, and determine the most effective method for clearance.
