How Japan Ukraine uses heavy machinery and AI to clean mines

With some 2 million land mines around 174,000 square kilometers in Ukraine, Japan is bringing both its diplomatic and technical skills to bear both, as it wants to reduce the danger in the war -torn nation. Japan will host an international workshop, focusing on mining withdrawal efforts in Ukraine. After that, it is ready to preside over the 22nd conference of the parties for the Ottawa Convention, which prevents the 1997 agreement that prevents the use, reserves, production and transfer of anti-Personal mines when found in Geneva in December.At the same time, the Japanese government, private companies and educationists are using both state -of -the -art technology and more traditional approaches to clean large areas of mines and unconfirmed armaments in an attempt to save their lives in Ukraine.Japanese companies have decades of experience in the field. The Tokyo-based manufacturer of heavy construction equipment Komatsu Limited has been collaborating with NGOs in Cambodia since 1999 to clean the rural areas of paddy fields and mines. The company has since expanded the same programs as Laos, Afghanistan and Angola.

Detecting device ‘CITU Me’

On 9 July last year, Japanese ambassador to Kiev, Kuninori Matsuda handed over Ukraine to four heavy armored Komatsu excavation. Machines are fitted with equipment to safely explode the mines of anti-workers in their original position.The Ministry of External Affairs in Tokyo said with a statement that removing mines and unexplained armaments “was not only necessary in ensuring the safety and safety of the residents, but also a condition for recovery and reconstruction in Ukraine.Next month, a group of trainees with the state emergency service of the Ukraine (SESU) traveled to Japan for instructions in the operation and maintenance of equipment before going to Cambodia for practical training in the area.In February 2022, the beginning of the Ukraine’s full scale Russian invasion and in late 2024, Japan provided Ukraine with 91 billion yen (€ 553.9 million, $ 617 million) in grant assistance to assist its reconstruction.

Japan vows to help Ukraine

Under the conditions of the post -war constitution, however, Japan must navigate strict restrictions on military aid in Ukraine. Tokyo has provided Kiev with medical equipment, helmets and body armor, but not monks or arms systems coming from other countries.Nevertheless, Japanese leaders have committed to what they can help.The then Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told the people present in Switzerland last year, “Japan will carry forward its efforts in the areas of mines to enable Ukrainian people to feel confident, as they re -establish their daily lives.”And when Komatsu is using the techniques tried and tested to safely present the mines, others are implementing the latest technological progress to the problem.

Drone learning to find mines from air

In February, Hideyuki Sarasa, a professor at Advanced Science and Engineering School at Washeda University, Tokyo, attended an online seminar organized by the International Committee of Red Cross to expand its latest advances. Sawada’s team is developing a system that teaches AI to identify mines using drones equipped with an infrared camera. The drone is capable of scanning larger areas of ground much faster than humans equipped with hand -caught equipment. Possible hazards can then be marked to make them safe for expert engineers.Savada, an expert at Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Machine Learning, said, “I started this research in 2019 and I am trying to behave the robot and react like a human.” “We are using machine learning to teach robots so that we can identify a mine from hundreds of pictures that we input.”He said that the challenge increases greatly because the mines are usually buried underground, so the infrared camera is required to help and identify the target from its metal or plastic heat signature. Arida said that temperature, humidity levels and ground makeup make up the situation more complicated, but gradually away.“We currently have a success rate of about 95% for buried mines and we are adding additional variables, such as temperature and terrain,” he said.Sarasa and his team are collecting data on these variables in Ukraine. Japanese experts are eager to go to the ground, although they say that there is a need to work more to achieve optimal results.“There are more than 100 different types of mines that have been used, so it is difficult to collect all the data we need for every situation,” he told DW.

Protecting ‘a whole generation of children’

“Even though the system is not yet correct, I believe it is very important to test it in the real -world environment and collect more data so that we can create our knowledge of technology and environment so that we can become more effective.”And it is important that such improvements are made quickly, he said.“We know that 40% of the victims of land mines are children who are playing in the fields and accidentally step on a mine,” he said. “To solve this problem would mean that an entire generation of children will not have to experience it.”“In Ukraine, even after the war ends, mines will still be there and it means many areas are not safe,” Savada said. “I want to try my best to change it and there are other Japanese companies and organizations who are doing so.”