Every year unexploded ordnance (UXO) claim the lives and limbs of countless civilians across the world — many of whom are children — and pose critical challenges to the development prospects of affected regions. Despite years of dedication and hard work by international and national demining organizations, at the current rate clearance work in severally contaminated countries will not be completed for hundreds of years (1). This is in part because the vast majority of UXO detection continues to be carried out by demining personnel putting their safety on the line through performing meticulous manual surveys with hand-held metal detectors, or else through utilizing trained mine detection rats and dogs. Despite the severity of the issue, the rapid advancement of technology and AI has had seemingly no effect on revolutionizing demining techniques; we live in a time when autonomous systems are being introduced onto battlefields in the name of war, yet none stay behind to clean up in the name of recovery.
KOI was founded to address this very issue. Our mission is foremost directed toward utilizing the resources of the technological age to develop accurate, user-friendly, and affordable UXO detection systems for safer and more efficient humanitarian demining, automating data collection and analysis whenever pragmatic to shorten the detection stage and let demining organizations devote maximum resources to supporting removal operations. Concurrent to technological innovation, KOI likewise commits itself to charitably supporting victims of UXO through various philanthropic activities, as well as raising awareness and disseminating original research and reports on the effects of UXO and advancements in the world of international mine action. Together, these three pillars form the operational backbone in realizing KOI’s mission: to promote international, regional, and community safety, stability, and recovery through risk and crisis mitigation at the individual level.
Current Initiatives
Technology
Auk Series Handheld Magnetometer
The Auk™ series of handheld magnetometers under development by KOI allow for a lightweight method of manual detection and recording of ferrous metal objects and magnetic field strengths. They are excellently suited for simple field surveys and other isolated detection environments, and are utilized by KOI engineers for research and testing purposes. Their simple, sustainable design also allows for their potential use in rural areas by residents in need of a way to non-intrusively pinpoint and mark UXO/ERW sites for avoidance by the community, and subsequently expediting the clearance process upon the arrival of demining professionals.
The Auk features a single 3-axis magnetometer sensor, that performs virtually identically to a traditional metal detector but with the ability to be compressed to extraordinarily small and lightweight dimensions due to differences in technology. Magnetic data captured by the sensor is saved to an onboard removable SD card and displayed in real time on a screen. Several switches on the external right face of the Auk allow for seamless adjustment of the device’s functionality, most notably changing its sensitivity to local magnetic noise. The device is powered by a built-in lithium battery that is charged by a solar cell located on the top face of the device, allowing for full recharge in 3 hours of sun after around 10 hours of initial use. The entire unit costs approximately $50 USD to manufacture. A patent application for the technology is currently pending.
AirYak Autonomous Drone
The AirYak™ is a 650mm autonomous drone designed by KOI for outfitting with the MD1 magnetometer system. Its design emphasizes low-altitude stability and flight time, allowing for large areas of preselected land to be safely and efficiently scanned without the need for human intervention. It features onboard GPS and a downward-facing lidar and optical flow sensor unit that provides pinpoint positioning accuracy even at low altitudes. The flight controller operates on ArduPilot firmware, optimized for autonomous mission planning and land surveying. The hover time is approximately thirty minutes, a remarkable flight time for large load-bearing drones. The entire drone costs under $400 in parts.
MD1 Drone Mounted Magnetometer
Currently under development, this magnetometry unit is designed for installation on the AirYak autonomous drone. It features seven 3-axis magnetometer sensors extending out across a horizontal pole that measures a wide area of ground upon each pass of the drone. Data collected by the sensors is routed through a central self-learning AI neural network that judges likelihood of UXO/ERW in a given area based on the local magnetic signals, drawing upon data and user feedback from previous runs, across both testing and authentic field work environments, to continuously improve detection accuracy and detail. Suspected locations of UXO/ERW are flagged and automatically marked using GPS, data that is subsequently uploaded to the cloud and made viewable by demining teams. By deploying the MD1-AirYak system, detection can be completed by the time demining professionals arrive on site, exponentially speeding up the UXO/ERW clearance process while also protecting professionals by delaying their entrance onto a contaminated site until all threats have been identified and geolocated. The MD1 is set to cost under $300 in parts to produce.
Whereas similar technologies experimentally developed by for-profit engineering firms fall in a price range upwards of $25,000 USD, guided by nonprofit values and simplified design principles the AirYak and MD1 are set to fall under $1,000 USD. All donations and funding that KOI receives will go toward ensuring that we are able to continue developing, optimizing, and upon completion deliver our safe and high-efficiency UXO clearance solutions to demining organizations with little to no charge. Interested parties may contact us to learn more about how your organization’s nonprofit humanitarian activities may benefit from KOI technologies.
Philanthropy
KOI is currently accepting donations to establish full tuition and living stipend scholarships to victims of UXO aiming to pursue college education. These scholarships aim to give UXO victims opportunities to strength their future prospects and self-reliance by finding employment in sectors where physical disabilities are secondary to intellectual capability, giving young victims of UXO a chance to pursue their ambitions, learn an intellectual trade, and firmly establish themselves as strong contributing members of society. While the exact countries and number of recipients is subject to change in accordance with financial resources, currently under consideration are Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.
If you and your organization work in education, disability support, or related fields of community and child welfare in developing war-torn countries, we warmly invite you to contact us to discuss and arrange collaborative possibilities.
Media
We maintain an open invitation to all parties wishing to support mine action and international humanitarianism to contribute a research article, news report, or other for consideration in posting under the Media tab on this website. Interested parties are warmly encouraged to visit the Get Involved page to learn more and connect with us regarding potential opportunities.
1) For sources and more information, please see “What Are UXO?” posted under the Media tab.