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Situations

3D Model Munitions Ukraine

2022 By Tech 4 Tracing, VFRAME
An image of an explosive being deleted in a landscape with rocks, sand and
sediment. The explosive is bright blue.
9N235/210 Submunition 3D Rendering, by: Adam Harvey / VFRAME.io

We are living through the most thoroughly documented wars in history — conflicts in which terabytes of images and videos are uploaded by citizens on platforms like YouTube. Many of these videos contain valuable clues about what is happening and who is responsible. Whilst there are too many videos for humans to review, technologies like machine learning, object recognition and 3D modelling can help automate the process. VFRAME applies these technologies in the service of human rights rather than surveillance or commercial purposes, training algorithms to recognise munitions in videos and to identify their provenance, first in Syria and now in Ukraine.

Adam Harvey, Jules La Place and Josh Evans

Photogrammetry scan of the 9N235 submunition
Photogrammetry scan of the 9N235 submunition by VFRAME in collaboration with Tech 4 Tracing. Image license: © Adam Harvey / VFRAME.io
Submunition models used for rending and 3D printing.
The 9N235 submunition 3D models prepared for use in 3D rendering and 3D printing. Image license and credit: © Adam Harvey / VFRAME.io