Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining Studying Benefits of UAS Use During Mine Action Operations
Between 2012 and 2014, Switzerland-based Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) conducted UAS feasibility tests to determine the pros and cons of using UAS when conducting mine action operations.
During the feasibility tests, GICHD flew senseFly’s swinglet CAM mapping UAS in Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Azerbaijan and Iraqi Kurdistan.
Early results from those tests, which can be read in a full report here, show that small UAS could be very beneficial, especially for one group in particular that works in this field.
“The first results of the GICHD’s feasibility study found that small, light mapping drone technology could become a valuable supplementary tool for mine action teams that require accurate, up-to-date imagery of suspected and confirmed hazardous sites,” read a statement from Relief Web.
The GICHD also conducted online surveys during the feasibility tests, and collected information from 42 respondents on the positives and negatives of using UAS during mine action operations.
Inna Cruz, GICHD’s UAS project leader, as well as an Information Management Advisor for the organization, summed up the results of the feasibility study by saying, “we saw from our feasibility study that images acquired with such an UAS can be used to enhance planning, recording and reporting capabilities at the different stages of the Land Release process, namely non-technical survey (NTS), technical survey (TS), and clearance.”
Upon completing the feasibility testing, GICHD transitioned to the operational testing phase in 2015. Through the operational testing phase, GICHD’s UAS program began working with the HALO Trust, which is the world’s largest humanitarian demining non-governmental organization, and the Mines Advisory Group (MAG), to analyze the benefits of using UAS during demining activities in real time.
So far, the operational testing phase has yielded several conclusions that are pro UAS, including a UAS’ ability to help collect information on inaccessible or dangerous areas, and its ability to provide precise before and after imagery to accurately record changes in land use.
“We have proved that UAS imagery—when infrastructure and permissions allow this data to be collected—helps in the planning and monitoring of humanitarian mine action operations,” Cruz said.
The operational testing phase, which has the ultimate goal of seeking to prove or disprove the idea of whether or not UAS are indeed helpful, is scheduled to be complete at the end of this year.
