A young Ukrainian awarded a student prize for his prototype mine-clearing drones
A Ukrainian soldier near a landmine warning post in a field on the outskirts of kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, June 9, 2022 (illustrative image).
AP - Natasha Pisarenko
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
Ukrainian Igor Klymenko, 17, was rewarded for his prototype mine-clearing drones.
The young inventor received this Tuesday, September 20 the “chegg.org global student prize”.
According to the Ukrainian authorities, 23% of their territory has been mined by the Russian army and it would take ten years to clear everything.
With his invention, Igor Klymenko hopes to reduce the process to three years.
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With our correspondent in New York
,
Carrie Nooten
It was when Russia invaded the Donbass in 2014 that Igor Klymenko came up with the idea for his demining drones.
He was then 11 years old, and drones were just accessible to individuals.
He was supervised by a Ukrainian university laboratory;
and when war broke out last February, he continued to improve his gear from the basement where he spent several weeks.
Instead of using a trained dog or a metal detector, two methods that remain risky, quadcopters are equipped with detectors, and have been programmed to calculate the coordinates of mines.
“
Now we are working on improving these machines,
” says
Igor Klymenko.
We are going to add artificial intelligence functions to it.
These drones will not only be able to give the coordinates and create a map, but they will also be able to designate the exact type of mine, and the way to remove it safely.
He can also mark with paint where the mine has been detected.
This should make demining faster and safer.
»
Two patents have already been filed.
Igor hopes very quickly to move to mass production of drones, to assist the Ukrainian army.
The $100,000 prize awarded on Tuesday should allow him to start his business.
And then, help other countries.
Before the start of the war in Ukraine, the world already had 110 million mines, buried across 60 countries.
►Also read: Ukraine: in the liberated cities, life is slowly resuming after months of nightmare
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