LOCALIZATION OF IONIZING RADIATION SOURCES VIA AN AUTONOMOUS ROBOTIC SYSTEM

2019 ◽  
Vol 186 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 249-256
Author(s):  
Tomas Lazna ◽  
Ota Fisera ◽  
Jaroslav Kares ◽  
Ludek Zalud
Keyword(s):  
Ionizing Radiation ◽  
Detection System ◽  
Region Of Interest ◽  
Robotic System ◽  
Unmanned Ground Vehicle ◽  
Localization Accuracy ◽  
Ground Vehicle ◽  
Autonomous Operation ◽  
Radiation Sources ◽  
Time Required

Abstract The article discusses an autonomous and flexible robotic system for radiation monitoring. The detection part of the system comprises two NaI(Tl) scintillation detectors: one of these is collimated to allow directionally sensitive measurements and the other is used to calculate the dose rate and provides sufficient sensitivity. Special algorithms for autonomous operation of an unmanned ground vehicle were developed, utilizing radiation characteristics acquired by the implemented detection system. The system was designed to operate in three modes: radiation mapping, localization of discrete sources and inspection of a region of interest. All of the modes were verified experimentally. In the localization mode, the time required to localize ionizing radiation sources was reduced by half compared to the field mapping mode exploiting parallel trajectories; the localization accuracy remained the same. In the inspection mode, the desired functionality was achieved, and the changes in the sources arrangement were detected reliably in the experiments.

scholarly journals Detecting and Creating a 2D Heatmap of Radiation Hot Spots via Unmanned Ground Vehicle

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-36
Author(s):  
Natalie Hales ◽  
Spencer Lee ◽  
Edward Londner
Keyword(s):  
Research Design ◽  
Hot Spots ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Unmanned Ground Vehicle ◽  
Ground Vehicle ◽  
Radiation Sources ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Initial Entry

The Army’s chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives (CBRNE) units respond to the any threat involving CBRNE elements. Their missions often involve the search and identification of radiation sources in a compromised facility. A major concern with this mission is the survivability of the Initial Entry Team, who is tasked with surveying the volatile indoor environment for data. The creation of a system to assist in, and expediate, the process of initial entry will greatly increase the health and welfare of the team. In order to localize and detect radiation in a pot-entially contaminated indoor environment, our team will develop the RADBOT, an unmanned, tethered robot that can de-tect and map radiation. This paper will summarize the research, design, testing, and results for the development of the RADBOT system.

scholarly journals Cooperation between an unmanned aerial vehicle and an unmanned ground vehicle in highly accurate localization of gamma radiation hotspots

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 172988141775078 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomas Lazna ◽  
Petr Gabrlik ◽  
Tomas Jilek ◽  
Ludek Zalud
Keyword(s):  
Gamma Radiation ◽  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Human Operator ◽  
Spatial Gradient ◽  
Unmanned Ground Vehicle ◽  
Ground Vehicle ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
Radiation Sources ◽  
Aerial Vehicle ◽  
The Given

This article discusses the highly autonomous robotic search and localization of radiation sources in outdoor environments. The cooperation between a human operator, an unmanned aerial vehicle, and an unmanned ground vehicle is used to render the given mission highly effective, in accordance with the idea that the search for potential radiation sources should be fast, precise, and reliable. Each of the components assumes its own role in the mission; the unmanned aerial vehicle (in our case, a multirotor) is responsible for fast data acquisition to create an accurate orthophoto and terrain map of the zone of interest. Aerial imagery is georeferenced directly, using an onboard sensor system, and no ground markers are required. The unmanned aerial vehicle can also perform rough radiation measurement, if necessary. Since the map contains three-dimensional information about the environment, algorithms to compute the spatial gradient, which represents the rideability, can be designed. Based on the primary aerial map, the human operator defines the area of interest to be examined by the applied unmanned ground vehicle carrying highly sensitive gamma-radiation probe/probes. As the actual survey typically embodies the most time-consuming problem within the mission, major emphasis is put on optimizing the unmanned ground vehicle trajectory planning; however, the dual-probe (differential) approach to facilitate directional sensitivity also finds use in the given context. The unmanned ground vehicle path planning from the pre-mission position to the center of the area of interest is carried out in the automated mode, similarly to the previously mentioned steps. Although the human operator remains indispensable, most of the tasks are performed autonomously, thus substantially reducing the load on the operator to enable them to focus on other actions during the search mission. Although gamma radiation is used as the demonstrator, most of the proposed algorithms and tasks are applicable on a markedly wider basis, including, for example, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear missions and environmental measurement tasks.

Design and Realization of an All-terrain Unmanned Ground Vehicle

ROBOT ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 657 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taoyi ZHANG ◽  
Tianmiao WANG ◽  
Yao WU ◽  
Qiteng ZHAO
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Ground Vehicle ◽  
Ground Vehicle

Unmanned Ground Vehicle for Security and Surveillance

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prajot P. Kulkarni ◽  
Shubham R. Kutre ◽  
Shravan S. Muchandi ◽  
Pournima Patil ◽  
Shankargoud Patil
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Ground Vehicle ◽  
Ground Vehicle
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