IN THE NEWS: Safe Pro Group’s “Spotlight” AI & Machine Learning Drone-Based Demining Technology Featured on PBS NewsHour
PBS NewsHour reports that among the horrors of war, landmines and unexploded ordnances linger and kill for years afterward. Ukraine is littered with landmines and bombs from both sides. Clearing those explosives is a massive and complicated task, but two young Americans are working on a technological advancement that could make it easier. Special correspondent Jack Hewson reports with the support of the Pulitzer Center.
Featured in the report is Safe Pro Group’s wholly owned subsidiary, Safe Pro AI whose next-generation Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning demining technology, Spotlight, was featured on the nationally-broadcast TV segment of PBS News Hour on September 14, 2023. Filmed in Ukraine, Safe Pro team members including Fred Polk, Jasper Baur and Gabriel Steinberg provided a PBS NewsHour crew, an inside look at how drones and Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) can reshape the approach to the demining crisis in the country where an estimated 67,000 sq. mi.[1], an area greater than the State of Florida, may be contaminated by land mines and Unexploded Ordnance (“UXO”).
Enabled by Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud, the Spotlight software harnesses AI and Machine Learning (“ML”) to process enormous amounts of centimeter-level aerial imagery collected by commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) drones, rapidly identifying surface level mines as well as over 70 types of UXO including cluster munitions. The AI instantly detects, labels and GPS-tags the mines then plots the results on centimeter level, high resolution maps to provide a bird’s-eye view for enhanced situational awareness during clearing and land release efforts conducted by local governments and humanitarian aid organizations.
Currently demining operations are underway in over 60 global conflict zones including in Ukraine where an estimated $37+ billion will be required to clear explosive remnants from the countryside over the next decade. Safe Pro’s AI-powered Spotlight demining solution has completed capability testing in Ukraine in collaboration with local stakeholders to survey large areas of land to detect, identify and map UXO. Operational testing confirmed Spotlight’s ability to dramatically increase the survey speed by a factor of ≈ 1,000+% and reduce costs by nearly 90% versus existing human-based, non-robotic methodologies, significantly reducing costs versus existing methodologies, exponentially improving the potential of future remediation efforts.
To view the PBS NewsHour video segment, please click here!