Decision Support to Experts for Better Defining and Reduction of Mine Suspected Areas

Survey and definition of mine suspected area (MSA) of all territory of Republic of Croatia was conducted the by employees of Croatian mine action centre (CROMAC). However, due to the lack of information and in order to reduce the risk for the local population MSA was defined in larger dimension. In the following years, when after MSA was defined, CROMAC was updating it's mined information system (MIS) with new information and did permanently reduction/extension of MSA in accordance with the mentioned information. The multi-sensor system for reconnaissance and surveillance, and decision support system in conditions of uncertainty provide help in collecting and process new information for purposes of humanitarian demining community in Croatia. Requirements for new information on objects that are present on the scene are defined in collaboration with experts from CROMAC. Collecting and processing information are carried out according to those requirements. Collecting information with multi-sensor system is performed in order to find and position an object which was assumed by the experts that can be defended/protected with mines (indicators of mine presence - IMP) or an object for which experts assumed that can be free of mines (indicators of mine absence - IMA). In the conditions of uncertainty, the data fusion of all available data (MIS, GIS, ortho-photo, (war/military) maps, aero-photo images, multi-spectral images, satellite images, contextual data, common and expert knowledge) is used within decision support system. Result of the fusion is a thematic map which displays impacts of all indicators onto their environment and their mutual impacts onto each other. Such map is called a danger map, and it displays degree of danger around indicators within some specific MSA. This thematic image (danger map) is used as help to experts in humanitarian demining for better definition and reduction of MSA. Above mentioned systems were used in three locations in Croatia, and this article will present some results of this processing.