Radiological Scouting, Monitoring and Inspection Using Drones
Luís Ramos Pinto,
Alberto Vale,
Yoeri Brouwer,
Jorge Borbinha,
José Corisco,
Rodrigo Ventura,
Ana Margarida Silva,
André Mourato,
Gonçalo Marques,
Yuri Romanets,
Susana Sargento,
Bruno Gonçalves
Affiliations
Luís Ramos Pinto
Insituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
Alberto Vale
Insituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
Yoeri Brouwer
Insituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
Jorge Borbinha
Centro de Ciências e Tecnologias Nucleares, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Estrada Nacional 10, ao km 139,7 2695-066 Bobadela, Portugal
José Corisco
Centro de Ciências e Tecnologias Nucleares, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Estrada Nacional 10, ao km 139,7 2695-066 Bobadela, Portugal
Rodrigo Ventura
Institute for Systems and Robotics, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
Ana Margarida Silva
Instituto de Telecomunicações, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
André Mourato
Instituto de Telecomunicações, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Gonçalo Marques
Instituto de Telecomunicações, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Yuri Romanets
Centro de Ciências e Tecnologias Nucleares, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Estrada Nacional 10, ao km 139,7 2695-066 Bobadela, Portugal
Susana Sargento
Instituto de Telecomunicações, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Bruno Gonçalves
Insituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
Human populations and natural ecosystems are bound to be exposed to ionizing radiation from the deposition of artificial radionuclides resulting from nuclear accidents, nuclear devices or radiological dispersive devices (“dirty bombs”). On the other hand, Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material industries such as phosphate production or uranium mining, contribute to the on site storage of residuals with enhanced concentrations of natural radionuclides. Therefore, in the context of the European agreements concerning nuclear energy, namely the European Atomic Energy Community Treaty, monitoring is an essential feature of the environmental radiological surveillance. In this work, we obtain 3D maps from outdoor scenarios, and complete such maps with measured radiation levels and with its radionuclide signature. In such scenarios, we face challenges such as unknown and rough terrain, limited number of sampled locations and the need for different sensors and therefore different tasks. We propose a radiological solution for scouting, monitoring and inspecting an area of interest, using a fleet of drones and a controlling ground station. First, we scout an area with a Light Detection and Ranging sensor onboard a drone to accurately 3D-map the area. Then, we monitor that area with a Geiger–Müller Counter at a low-vertical distance from the ground to produce a radiological (heat)map that is overlaid on the 3D map of the scenario. Next, we identify the hotspots of radiation, and inspect them in detail using a drone by landing on them, to reveal its radionuclide signature using a Cadmium–Zinc–Telluride detector. We present the algorithms used to implement such tasks both at the ground station and on the drones. The three mission phases were validated using actual experiments in three different outdoor scenarios. We conclude that drones can not only perform the mission efficiently, but in general they are faster and as reliable as personnel on the ground.
