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Mines remaining from the Homeland War are a huge problem in Croatia. The joint work of experts in humanitarian demining and military doctrines in certain geographical areas, and scientists of various profiles, has resulted in a concept for producing mine danger maps, which show areas and levels of potential hazards from mines, i.e. suspected hazardous areas. This paper presents the concept for producing mine danger maps for a suspected hazardous area (Svilaja, Croatia). The input data comprise information stored in mine information systems and additional data collected on the suspected hazardous area (e.g. bunkers and shelters for tanks, artillery and people). The resulting maps () seek to improve the identification of areas where there is no threat so that parts of suspected hazardous areas can be proposed for mine reduction, or suspected hazardous areas can be better defined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Advanced Intelligence Decision Support System (AIDSS) is the first mine action technology in humanitarian demining to combine remote sensing and data fusion methods with advanced surveillance and reconnaissance in a successful operational system. It aims to provide a reliable, efficient tool to support the process of making decisions about suspected hazardous areas, based on the methodology scientifically developed and validated in the FP5 SMART project. The system was developed through Technology Project TP-006/0007-01, supported by the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia, and deployed in operations in several suspected hazardous areas in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2008 and 2016. It was upgraded in the TIRAMISU project, and its name changed to TIRAMISU Advanced Intelligence Decision Support System. Gaps identified by end-users and system operators were filled in. Among the main results were innovations for generating mine danger maps. In this paper, only the structure of the system and its potential application in non-technical surveys as part of humanitarian demining are shown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Croatian Mine Action Centre (CROMAC) reviewed, defined and marked the entire mine suspected area (MSA) in Croatia by the year 2004. However, due to the need to reduce risk and the lack of information from the deepest reaches of the MSA, its surface area was defined as larger than in reality. Mine clearance is a long-term, expensive process, and Croatia has committed itself to resolving the problem of landmines on its territory by 2019. Such developments have led to searching for and finding solutions to speed up resolution of the mine problem in Croatia (and in the world) through reducing the defined MSA. The reduction of an already defined MSA requires additional data and information from the deepest reaches of the MSA, on the basis of which a revision of existing SMEs to make reductions will be carried out. Based on these data and revision of the existing MSA, reduction can be performed. All subsequently collected data and information, together with previously known data from the CROMAC Mine Information System (MIS), are processed in the decision support system in conditions of uncertainty. The results obtained are displayed on different thematic maps, showing the positions of objects and their spatial impact on the environment. Thus, thematic maps allow insights into topics which experts in humanitarian detaining can use to make decisions in the process. These thematic maps are the result of the methodology created within the project Space and Airborne Mined Area Reduction Tools (SMART), and further developed in the technological project System for Multisensor Airborne Reconnaissance and Surveillance in Emergency Situations and Environmental Protection, TP-06/0007-01, Ministry of Science, Education and Sports; Deployment of Advanced Intelligence Decision Support System for Mine Suspected Area Reduction in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the author's doctoral dissertation. This paper establishes the new terminology for new, improved thematic maps that unambiguously define their content and facilitate communication between producers and users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The digital airborne multisensor and multiresolution system for collection of information (images) about mine suspected area was created, within European commission project Airborne Minefield Area Reduction (ARC, EC IST-2000-25300, http:// www.arc.vub.ac.be) to gain a better perspective in mine suspected areas (MSP) in the Republic of Croatia. The system consists of a matrix camera (visible and near infrared range of electromagnetic spectrum, 0.4-1.1 µm), thermal (thermal range of electromagnetic spectrum, 8-14 µm) and a hyperspectral linear scanner. Because of a specific purpose and seeking object on the scene, the flights for collecting the images took place at heights from 130 m to 900 m above the ground. The result of a small relative flight height and large MSPs was a large number of images which cover MSPs. Therefore, the need for merging images in largest parts, for a better perspective in whole MSPs and the interaction of detected object influences on the scene appeared. The mentioned system did not dispose of the module for automatic mosaicking and geocoding, so mosaicking and after that geocoding were done manually. This process made the classification of the scene (better distinguishing of objects on the scene) and fusion of multispectral and multiresolution images after that possible. Classification and image fusion can be even done by manually mosaicking and geocoding. This article demonstrated this claim. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Toolbox implementation for removal of antipersonnel mines, submunitions and unexploded ordnance (TIRAMISU) Advanced Intelligence Decision Support System is an operational system proposed to Mine Action Centres worldwide for conducting non-technical surveys in humanitarian demining. The system consists of three modules, one of which is the module for data acquisition introduced and described in this study. The module has been designed, produced, improved, used and operationally tested and validated on several platforms (helicopters, remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) and a blimp), with various sensors and acquisition units (Global Positioning System (GPS) and inertial measurement unit) in a variety of combinations for additional data acquisition from deep inside a suspected hazardous area. For the purposes of aerial data acquisition over a suspected hazardous area, the use of multiple sensors such as visible digital cameras and multi-spectral visible, near infrared (VNIR), hyperspectral VNIR and thermal infrared sensors are of benefit, because they display the scene in different ways. Off-the-shelf equipment and software were mostly used, but some specific equipment, such as sensor pods, was developed and also some software solutions for data acquisition and pre-processing (transforming hyperspectral line scanner data into hyperspectral images, and producing hyperspectral cubes). The technical stability and robustness of the module were confirmed by operationally testing and evaluating the systems on the aforementioned platforms and missions in several actual suspected hazardous areas in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, between 2001 and 2015. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]