Tests of a UAV for the detection of explosive objects and a bomb disposal robot have been carried out
A robotic complex for humanitarian demining has been tested in Novosibirsk. The developers tested an aerial drone designed to detect explosive objects and a ground-based bomb disposal robot working in pairs. The correspondent of Izvestia visited the landfill and saw how the equipment allows you to find mines and helps to neutralize them without putting the lives of sappers at risk.
A view from heaven
At the beginning of the tests, the developers mine the area — they install mock-ups of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines and scatter deactivated petal mines in the grass. After that, they fence off the area with a signal tape and begin to prepare the copter for flight.
— Light conditions are not important, but weather conditions affect the flight, there are restrictions — wind and precipitation, — explains the features of the new technology, Dmitry Shestakov, General Director of Optiplay Aerodynamics LLC (developer of the UAV-based complex). — It is also not recommended to search in wet soil, because its composition and permeability change significantly. The ideal option is dry and slightly windy weather.
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The tests begin with the launch of a special quadcopter into the air. It is equipped with equipment for aerial photography using a high-resolution camera.
Before taking to the air, a special program builds a flight task for the drone. Then, at the signal of the operator, the copter rises into the sky and begins shooting, moving from point to point along a given route.
As a result of the flight, the sappers receive an orthophotoplane — a digital panorama of the area made up of a large number of high-resolution photographs. The images obtained with its help make it possible to see mines both on the ground and in the grass.
But the work of the aerial drone does not end there. It is equipped with a magnetometer and lifted back into the air.
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Image source: iz.ru
The developers explain that this span will reveal magnetic anomalies in the soil layer up to several meters, depending on the magnetic mass and depth of occurrence.
Already at dusk, the stage of examining the mined area with a thermal imager begins.
The magnetometer and camera cannot detect all mines — difficulties, for example, arise with ammunition in a plastic case. Nature itself helps to find them.
— We focus on the magnetometric method, since most mines are magnetic, — Alexey Malyshev, Executive Director of Complement Technology, tells Izvestia. — For non—magnetic ones, there is a thermal imaging method of detection - after sunset, the mines remain warmer and they are clearly visible in thermal imagers.
In the future, the copters will be equipped with geoscaners. These devices detect non-magnetic mines installed in the soil layer, reacting to its heterogeneity.
The mine is not full-bodied, it has voids, so they are immediately visible, the developers explain. According to them, the technology is still "crude" — we need to work, test, implement, and learn.
Ground Robot
In parallel, a special robotic platform for mine clearance was tested — it was made on the basis of a commercial loader. Her task is to prepare the area before the start of the work of the sappers.
These lightweight robots use a rotary mechanism to grind the soil to a depth of about 10 cm, while destroying vegetation. Due to the small size of the robot, anti-tank and large anti-personnel mines pose a danger to it.
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Image source: iz.ru
Therefore, according to the developers, using the data on the location of mines received from the quadcopter, the robot builds a route so as not to run over them.
Izvestia was shown the platform in action. Having laid the mock-ups of mines in the ground, the developers launched the robot.
At a speed of 5 km/h, it leaves behind a strip of soil about a meter wide cleared of grass and branches. The organizers explained that the grass hides mines and the sapper often has to cut it off on his knees with special scissors. Moreover, all this has to be done in a protective suit, helmet and often in the sun. And the preliminary preparation of the site with the help of a robot will then facilitate the work of the sappers.
— We are focusing on the flat terrain. Most of the territories designated for agriculture are just like that," explains Alexey Malyshev.
To save people
— Drones allow you to do mine clearance work as safely as possible, — says Dmitry Shestakov.
According to him, the quadcopter is needed for humanitarian demining, since the machine flies in automatic mode, using satellite data for positioning.
— There are no satellites in combat conditions, so another layout is needed, implying manual control by the operator, — explains Dmitry Shestakov. — And in general, the conditions and tasks in the combat mode are slightly different, so it is necessary to refine and change the design of the complex.
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Image source: iz.ru
According to the developer, the complex allows you to identify objects with a size of 100 mm at a depth of up to half a meter.
— The complex is just being developed, we are trying to improve accuracy, it is important. We have very high indicators in the terms of reference, and we will achieve them. At the moment, the mine is determined with an accuracy of about 20 cm," adds Alexey Malyshev.
He is confident that new mine clearance systems will be needed in the area of the military special operation.
The developers expect that the new robotic technology will increase the efficiency of the process and the speed of mine clearance by 10-20 times, and most importantly, it will maximize the safety of sappers.
Julia Leonova
Bogdan Stepovoy
Andrey Fedorov
