Prioritisation in humanitarian demining: Ukrainian developers create platform with over 100 datasets

Ukrainian developers have integrated over 100 datasets from 26 different sources into the GRIT platform for automated prioritisation in humanitarian demining. This includes data on soil types, regional economic activity, the condition of social infrastructure, and the number of people living in communities, among others. The GRIT platform was developed as part of a pilot project for prioritisation in humanitarian demining in Kharkiv region and operates on the technology giant Palantir’s infrastructure.

“Based on the collected data, AI can build models to address complex questions. For example, if we have two identical plots in different communities in Kharkiv region, the system will consider factors like the distance to the nearest grain elevator or the infrastructure network to determine priority. We have a vast amount of data, which provides a wide scope for applying AI and various algorithms. However, the final decision will always be made by a human,” said Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Ihor Bezkaravainyi.

Ukrainian teams and specialists from the technology giant Palantir are involved in the pilot project. The uploaded data has been used to test prioritisation algorithms, taking into account economic, social, environmental, and security criteria.

Following the successful completion of the pilot project in Kharkiv region, the Ministry of Economy has initiated negotiations with Palantir and Ukraine’s international partners to scale up the GRIT platform to all regions where hostilities have taken place.