Land mine detection and munitions (UXO) with drones and a magnetometer.

Drones are the ideal means to detect landmines and munitions without making contact with the ground, for this purpose one attaches a strong magnetometer with multiple fluxgate sensors at the bottom of the drone. With special flight planning software, one can start scanning a certain area according to a predetermined pattern. Because the magnetometer needs to be as close to the ground as possible, the drone is equipped with a true terrain following option, which can consist of a laser altimeter or a radar so that the drone continues to fly at the same altitude relative to the ground on terrains that are sloping or not flat. Optionally, a collision avoidance sensor is mounted up front so that the drone does not fly into obstacles when e.g. flying out of sight range. Because there are no people in the field and the device does not touch the ground, explosion danger is virtually impossible and this is a very safe way of working. After the flight, the data can be processed and noise filtered before generating a 2D map with the exact GPS location of suspicious objects.

Aerialsolutions offers complete UXO/mine detection systems integrated on drones such as the DJI M300RTK. This device is perfectly suited because of its weather resistance and maximum payload weight which is overmatched by a magnetometer or GPR.

Beyond the drone and sensor payload, additional hardware and software is required to integrate the magnetometer/GPR. The hardware consists of a laser and radar altimeter that, together with the TTF (true terrain following) software, ensure that the drone remains at the correct altitude relative to the ground surface, tracking the level difference. The flight planning software ensures that the entire area is scanned without operator input. After the flight, the collected data is converted by the on board computer into a virtual map showing all dictated objects with exact coordinates.

Aerialsolutions provides training onsite around the world.

Further applications include:
Geosurvey
Detection of underground power lines
Archaeology
Exploration of mining areas