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Draganfly Inc., a leading North American-based commercial drone company, is partnering with Windfall Geotek to develop drone-based solutions for landmine detection.

Windfall Geotek is a Quebec-based technology services company and a leader in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced knowledge-extraction techniques in the mining sector.

The companies will work to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) driven unmanned aerial systems solution for landmine detection in the defense, humanitarian and other sectors in which the companies have expertise.

While landmines have been used since World War I, their deployment proliferated from the 1960s onwards. To this day, many unexploded devices are killing and maiming people who step on or trigger the bombs unintentionally.

About 60 countries and territories are still contaminated with anti-personnel mines, and more than 120,000 people were killed or injured by landmines between 1999-2017, according to research by Landmine Monitor.

Terms of the agreement include joint research, development and engineering support, drones and equipment o further commercialize an AI driven drone solution for the detection and elimination of landmines, unexploded ordnance and.improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

In 2018, governments and nonprofits allocated nearly US$700 million in combined international
and national support for mine action in 2018. The economic impact of landmines is estimated at $100 billion.

“We have been evaluating drone solutions for nearly a year, and after an exhaustive analysis of the market and providers, it is exciting to select Draganfly as our first drone systems partner for this worthwhile initiative,” said Dinesh Kandanchatha, chairman of Windfall Geotek.

“Windfall Geotek is the industry leader in AI-based digital exploration for mining. When they approached us on this project, it seemed like a natural fit to partner our engineering and drone capabilities, with their proven software and AI expertise,” sid Cameron Chell, CEO, Draganfly. “The two companies share a mission of saving lives through technology. We expect this partnership to generate new and expanded revenue streams for both companies in the defense sector, public safety and other markets where both companies have expertise.”