The GENIUS project, backed by funding from the European Commission through the European Defence Fund, brings together 18 leading European entities in a united effort to address the pressing challenges posed by Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), Unexploded Ordnances (UXOs), and landmines.
Traditional methods of detecting and neutralizing these threats often fall short, posing significant risks to human safety and operational success. GENIUS will change all that by pushing back the current boundaries. With a comprehensive, high-tech approach that integrates advanced sensors, unmanned platforms, and artificial intelligence, the project aims to deliver unmatched accuracy and reliability in threat management while reducing risks to personnel and increasing mission effectiveness.
Over the next 36 months, the GENIUS consortium will focus on developing solutions that:
- Increase detection probabilities for threats in complex and high-risk environments.
- Provide reliable and adaptable threat management systems tailored to the realities of modern warfare.
- Reduce false alarms to enhance operational confidence and efficiency.
“SpaceApps is a key partner in GENIUS providing a UGV and a UAV with specific sensors for IED/UxO detection with enhanced autonomy to the GENIUS project. The UGV will be adapted with multiple end effectors to enhance the detection, breaching and support neutralization of the threats. The UAV will be used or visual scanning and sub-terrain detection” explains Shashank Govindaraj, Division Manager at Space Applications Services.
The GENIUS consortium officially launched the project with an initial meeting in December 2024 and hosted its first workshop on January 28-29, 2025, at GMV’s premises.. During the meeting, members discussed the project’s roadmap for overcoming technical challenges, as well as its ethical and security compliance framework, marking the beginning of this ambitious and game-changing initiative.
