Trimble's GNSS Technology Aiding Work of
Identifying and Clearing Landmines
WESTMINSTER, Colo., Nov. 6, 2023
/PRNewswire/ -- Trimble (NASDAQ: TRMB) and the Trimble Foundation
Fund have partnered with The HALO Trust, the world's largest
landmine-clearing non-profit organization, to help expand its
demining operations across Ukraine. The Foundation Fund directed grant
focuses on strengthening the HALO Trust's capacity to locate
and remove landmines, unexploded ordnance, and other explosive
hazards from civilian areas to create safer communities.
In addition, the Trimble Foundation Fund grant also enables HALO
to support the Ukrainian national authorities to plan and
coordinate landmine clearance activities by streamlining the
mapping and data flow from the operational teams in the field to
the national database.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine
has resulted in the contamination of massive swaths of the country
with landmines, unexploded ordnance, and improvised explosive
devices. These explosive hazards block access to farmland, impede
reconstruction efforts, prevent displaced persons from returning to
their homes, and continue to hinder the safety of Ukrainian
civilians. The Government of Ukraine estimates that 174,000 square
kilometers of its land may be contaminated—this is roughly the size
of Virginia, Maryland, and Connecticut combined.
HALO has been on the ground in Ukraine since 2016. More than one thousand
HALO staff work daily to both clear explosives in critical priority
areas and recruit and train hundreds of new staff to help keep
communities safe from dangerous weapons left behind.
Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) technology for
surveying and mapping has played a significant role in the
success of HALO's operations around the world—including
Ukraine. Over the last 6 years,
Trimble® R1 and Trimble R2 GNSS receivers have been used by
HALO in conjunction with Esri ArcGIS Survey123 software for the
identification and clearance of landmines.
A new deployment of 255 high-precision Trimble DA2 GNSS
receivers with Trimble Catalyst™ corrections service has been
provided to HALO by Trimble's Geospatial and Positioning Services
businesses. The solution will enable HALO to modernize and
transform its landmine clearance operations by providing improved
accuracy for more detailed maps, streamlined data flows, and
increased operational efficiency and safety. To date, the Trimble
DA2 receivers are the largest hardware donation made to HALO in the
organization's history, and they are being used in Ukraine and soon worldwide.
"We are dedicated to saving lives by clearing landmines and
other deadly explosives to make land safe. Only then can families
rebuild their lives and walk without fear," said Chris Whatley, executive director of The HALO
Trust USA. "Thanks to Trimble's
cutting-edge technology, we have dramatically enhanced our ability
to locate and rapidly clear these explosive devices. Partnering
withTrimble and the Trimble Foundation Fund reflects the power of
collaboration and innovation in tackling the world's most pressing
humanitarian challenges, and we look forward to seeing the impact
it will have on our life-saving work in Ukraine and around the world."
"One of Trimble's core principles is to serve communities and
societies in powerful, positive ways," said Emily Saunoi-Sandgren,
chair, Trimble Foundation Fund. "Saving lives through the removal
of dangerous debris left from war is a courageous example of how
humanitarian efforts can positively transform people's lives and
livelihoods. Supporting the HALO Trust's important and impactful
work helps the people of Ukraine
and other countries worldwide recover and rebuild after
conflict."
About HALO Trust
Founded in 1988 in the wake of the
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan,
The HALO Trust (HALO) is the largest humanitarian landmine
clearance organization in the world. Based in the UK and the
US, HALO currently operates in 30 countries and territories across
the world – often in war-torn areas that are difficult for
government agencies, military forces, and other NGOs to access.
Worldwide, HALO employs 11,500 deminers, of which roughly a third
are women. HALO has helped over 6.5 million people stay safe in
over 20 countries through its in-person community awareness
sessions that teach people how to recognise and report explosive
items. Over 20 million people have seen its safety messaging in
Ukraine since February
2022. For information about HALO Trust's work, visit:
www.halotrust.org.
About Trimble Foundation Fund
Trimble Foundation Fund
is a donor-advised fund that focuses its charitable giving on the
missions of supporting natural disaster and climate resilience,
promoting female education and empowerment and advancing
diversity, equity and inclusion. The Trimble Foundation Fund is
aligned to the company's commitment towards building a more
sustainable future. For more information on the Trimble Foundation
Fund, visit: foundation.trimble.com.
About Trimble
Dedicated to the world's tomorrow,
Trimble is a technology company delivering solutions that enable
our customers to work in new ways to measure, build, grow and move
goods for a better quality of life. Core technologies in
positioning, modeling, connectivity and data analytics connect the
digital and physical worlds to improve productivity, quality,
safety, transparency and sustainability. From purpose-built
products and enterprise lifecycle solutions to industry cloud
services, Trimble is transforming critical industries such as
construction, geospatial, agriculture and transportation to power
an interconnected world of work. For more information about Trimble
(NASDAQ: TRMB), visit: www.trimble.com.
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SOURCE Trimble