Danish Startup Introduces 10K Drone Sensor for Enhanced Search, Surveillance, and Mine Detection

Danish Start-Up Develops Advanced Sensor System for Drones

By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill

Innovative Technology for Rescue Operations

Marine rescue teams face significant challenges when using drones to locate capsized boats or individuals in distress. They must analyze images transmitted from the drone to search vast areas of water for critical evidence, all within a limited timeframe.

A Danish high-tech start-up, Sapient Perceptions, has introduced a new product aimed at enhancing the capabilities of rescue crews, first responders, and military personnel. The company has unveiled ECHO, which it claims is the first dedicated 10K sensor specifically designed for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

The ECHO sensor is engineered for autonomous applications in defense, security, and emergency response, allowing operators to monitor significantly larger areas—up to 100 times more—than conventional sensors while maintaining detailed resolution in a single frame.

Enhanced Imaging Capabilities

In an interview, CEO and co-founder Anthony Garetto explained that ECHO captures images with a resolution of 100 million pixels, compared to the 2 million pixels typical of standard drone sensors. This capability enables users to detect and track multiple objects across extensive areas.

Garetto emphasized that the ECHO system allows operators to maintain a broad overview of a mission area while focusing on specific details without the need to zoom in and out, which can compromise situational awareness.

“When I’m zooming in, if I see something then I have to zoom back out, but then I don’t have the detail,” he noted. “If I zoom in again, I lose my situational awareness.”

The onboard AI platform continuously monitors the environment, assisting operators in making quick, informed decisions in real time.

Partnerships and Applications

Founded last year, Sapient Perceptions aims to revolutionize visual intelligence through physical AI technologies. The company has raised €2 million in pre-seed funding from investors, including Balnord and FORWARD.one, and has formed a partnership with Dropla Tech, a Danish-Ukrainian defense start-up. This collaboration will integrate Sapient’s 10K sensors with Dropla’s AI model, Blue Eyes, to enhance landmine detection and surveillance capabilities for the Ukrainian armed forces.

Messerschmidt, the company’s chief business officer, highlighted the significance of supporting de-mining efforts in Ukraine, where millions of landmines pose a serious threat across approximately 40% of the territory. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence is currently utilizing Dropla’s technology to identify landmines and unexploded ordnance in areas designated for supply convoys.

“The ground resolution has to be two millimeters, but they also have to cover a fairly wide swath,” Messerschmidt explained. “The partnership works because each company focuses on its strengths.”

Broader Applications Beyond Defense

While Sapient is currently concentrating on defense applications, Garetto noted potential uses in civilian security and commercial drone markets. Possible applications include border patrol, maritime search and rescue, and police crowd control.

Garetto shared a personal experience from Hurricane Helene in 2024, where he believes Sapient’s technology could have significantly improved emergency response efforts. “Emergency personnel would have been able to see and locate people more rapidly and assess damage in real time,” he stated.

The Role of Drone Component Manufacturers

As the drone market evolves in Europe and North America, companies like Sapient, which focus on producing drone components rather than complete UAVs, are becoming increasingly important in global supply chains. Messerschmidt emphasized the need for reliable sourcing of critical components from trusted partners.

“A lot of drone manufacturers integrate various components, but sourcing from trusted and allied partners is challenging,” he said. “We are committed to maintaining allied supply chains, ensuring that our components do not include any Chinese parts.”