A real-time statistical alarm method for mobile gamma spectrometry—Combining counts of pulses with spectral distribution of pulses

Kock, P. C. De; Lanke, Jan; Samuelsson, Christer

doi:10.1016/j.nima.2012.04.038

Cited by 11 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…In the last decade there has been a strong effort in improving spectral analysis techniques which led not only to high-accuracy identification of radionuclides present in the environment [ 7 ], but also to the possibility of performing real time surveys, especially in the framework of homeland security applications [ 8 ]. The spread of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is boosting research and development in the field of AGRS applied to innovative sectors, such as precision farming or emergency response in case of nuclear accidents, both in terms of the technologies employed (e.g., prototypes equipped with CdZnTe detectors [ 9 ]) and of spectral analysis methods [ 10 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accuracy of Flight Altitude Measured with Low-Cost GNSS, Radar and Barometer Sensors: Implications for Airborne Radiometric Surveys

Albéri

Baldoncini

Bottardi

et al. 2017

Sensors

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Flight height is a fundamental parameter for correcting the gamma signal produced by terrestrial radionuclides measured during airborne surveys. The frontiers of radiometric measurements with UAV require light and accurate altimeters flying at some 10 m from the ground. We equipped an aircraft with seven altimetric sensors (three low-cost GNSS receivers, one inertial measurement unit, one radar altimeter and two barometers) and analyzed ~3 h of data collected over the sea in the (35–2194) m altitude range. At low altitudes (H < 70 m) radar and barometric altimeters provide the best performances, while GNSS data are used only for barometer calibration as they are affected by a large noise due to the multipath from the sea. The ~1 m median standard deviation at 50 m altitude affects the estimation of the ground radioisotope abundances with an uncertainty less than 1.3%. The GNSS double-difference post-processing enhanced significantly the data quality for H > 80 m in terms of both altitude median standard deviation and agreement between the reconstructed and measured GPS antennas distances. Flying at 100 m the estimated uncertainty on the ground total activity due to the uncertainty on the flight height is of the order of 2%.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accuracy of Flight Altitude Measured with Low-Cost GNSS, Radar and Barometer Sensors: Implications for Airborne Radiometric Surveys

Albéri

Baldoncini

Bottardi

et al. 2017

Sensors

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“…To aid the user/operator of such systems to detect the elevated counts from the source under varying background radiation conditions, several various statistical approaches were studied [ 8 – 10 ]. Despite the increased probability of detection of the sources due to new background suppression methods suggested by Kock et al or Mauring et al [ 8 – 10 ], the main result of the survey remains that an increase in the count rate in a ROI in the gamma spectra indicates only that there might be a source near that measurement position [ 11 , 12 ]. Such statistical approach to mobile gamma spectrometry data analysis has been utilized for decades.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bayesian algorithm to estimate position and activity of an orphan gamma source utilizing multiple detectors in a mobile gamma spectrometry system

et al. 2021

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To avoid harm to the public and the environment, lost ionizing radiation sources must be found and brought back under the regulatory control as soon as possible. Usually, mobile gamma spectrometry systems are used in such search missions. It is possible to estimate the position and activity of point gamma sources by performing Bayesian inference on the measurement data. The aim of this study was to theoretically investigate the improvements in the Bayesian estimations of the position and activity of a point gamma source due to introduction of data from multiple detectors with angular variations of efficiency. Three detector combinations were tested—a single 123% HPGe detector, single 4l NaI (Tl) detector and a 123% HPGe with 2x4l NaI (Tl) detector combination—with and without angular efficiency variations for each combination resulting in six different variants of the Bayesian algorithm. It was found that introduction of angular efficiency variations of the detectors did improve the accuracy of activity estimation slightly, while introduction of data from additional detectors lowered the signal-to-noise ratio threshold of the system significantly, increasing the stability and accuracy of the estimated source position and activity, for a given signal-to-noise ratio.

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“…Contour mapping and source search as an attractive research topic has drawn much attention in a radioactive field [4][5][6]. In a typical search for lost or stolen radioactive sources, five main strategies are used to conduct search activities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of Multi-Rotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Radioactive Source Search

Zhu

Wang

et al. 2018

Remote Sensing

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In recent years, many radioactive sources have been lost or stolen during use or transportation. When the radioactive source is lost or stolen, it is challenging but imperative to quickly locate the source before it causes damage. Nowadays, source search based on fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can significantly improve search efficiency, but this approach has higher requirements for the activity of the uncontrolled radioactive source and the takeoff sites. The aim of this study was to design and demonstrate a platform that uses low-cost multi-rotor UAVs to automatically and efficiently search for uncontrolled radioactive sources even with lower activity. The hardware of this platform consists of a multi-rotor UAV, radiation detection sensor, main control module, gimbal and camera, and ground control station. In the search process, the ground control station and UAV communicate wirelessly in real time. To accommodate different search scenarios, the study proposed three search algorithms with a theoretical comparison. Then, field experiments based on the traversal search algorithm showed that the search system based on multi-rotor UAVs could effectively and accurately conduct contour mapping of a region and locate the radioactive source with an error of 0.32 m. The platform and algorithms enable accurate and efficient searching of radioactive sources, providing an innovative demonstration of future environmental risk assessment and management.

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A real-time statistical alarm method for mobile gamma spectrometry—Combining counts of pulses with spectral distribution of pulses

Cited by 11 publications

References 17 publications

Accuracy of Flight Altitude Measured with Low-Cost GNSS, Radar and Barometer Sensors: Implications for Airborne Radiometric Surveys

Accuracy of Flight Altitude Measured with Low-Cost GNSS, Radar and Barometer Sensors: Implications for Airborne Radiometric Surveys

Bayesian algorithm to estimate position and activity of an orphan gamma source utilizing multiple detectors in a mobile gamma spectrometry system

Use of Multi-Rotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Radioactive Source Search

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