UAV-Based Remote Sensing Sensors for Humanitarian Mine Action: A Systematic Classification and Comparative Review

Abstract

Mined territories represent a long-term threat to human safety, economic activity, and environmental stability. The diversity of natural conditions, soil properties, vegetation cover, and mine construction significantly complicates the reliable detection of explosive objects (EO) and limits the applicability of individual detection technologies. Ground-based surveys are often dangerous and logistically challenging, creating a need for safe remote methods of spatial data collection. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), combined with miniaturized remote sensing sensors, provide an opportunity to collect high-resolution spatial data over potentially hazardous areas without direct human exposure. The study provides a review and comparative analysis of UAV-mounted sensor technologies, focusing on their physical detection principles, detectable mine-related indicators, operational limitations, and potential applications at different stages of humanitarian mine action. UAV sensors are classified according to the physical principles underlying their operation into mechanical, seismic and acoustic sensors; electromagnetic sensors; electro-optical sensors; and explosive-material detectors. Their capabilities for detecting surface and subsurface objects, soil and vegetation disturbances, thermal and spectral anomalies, magnetic and electromagnetic responses, and traces of explosive materials are analyzed. Particular attention is given to the limitations associated with soil and environmental conditions, sensor characteristics, detection depth, UAV payload constraints, and the absence of a universal sensing technology. The analysis indicates that individual sensors provide complementary information and have distinct operational limitations. Therefore, the integration of data from multiple sensor types, together with accurate positioning using GPS/GNSS and IMU systems and subsequent processing in geographic information systems (GIS), represents a promising approach for improving the spatial characterization of potentially hazardous areas. The results provide a basis for selecting and integrating UAVmounted sensors according to the physical properties of detectable anomalies and the requirements of humanitarian mine action operations.