An UAV-Based Approach with Thermal Camera to Buried Improvised Explosive Detection

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Résumé

Since 2016, Burkina Faso has been confronted with the danger of buried Improvised Explosive Devices. Human intelligence, visual detection and metal detectors are the means used by the military to counter this danger. These resources appear to be insufficient as the number of mine victims is increasing. Our goal in this paper is to show the relevance of the detection of buried mines with a thermal camera mounted on a Unmanned Aerial Vehicle solution. An artificial intelligence will automate the remote sensing of mines. In this first part of the work, we set up a simulated Improvised Explosive Devices site. Thermal images from this site were used to analyze and verify the significance of these data. A first classification based only on the images did not allow an effective discrimination. Meteorological data are also collected to improve the quality of the analysis and the classification in the next step.

Mots-clés

buried landmines, infrared thermography, unmanned aerial vehicles, landmine detection, thermal image classification, meteorological observations, countermining, Burkina Faso