Radiation Mapping UAV

• Michael Dimeo
• Michael Kifarkis
• Arshad Narmawala
• John Stanton
• Sebastian Szulakiewicz
• Bruce Treska

Advisor: Jonathan Komperda

Sponsor: Fermi National Laboratory

The NuMI (Neutrinos at the Main Injector) target system delivers a high-energy flux of muon-neutrinos toward a detector more than 800 km away with the goal of better understanding the origin of the universe and its evolution. The target system becomes radioactive because it is irradiated by a sub-Mega-Watt power proton beam. Radiological hazard is one of critical issues for a radiological worker, which limits their activities near the target system. However, they often need to quantify the radiation level of the target system manually. Thus, the objective of this project is to reduce their exposure to radiation while improving the accuracy of the measurements. A quadcopter UAV fitted with a radiation dosimeter is ideal to traverse the irradiated environment as it can be deployed in any space and requires minimal hardware integration to the test room. Due to the lack of indoor GPS signal, this UAV utilizes a series of ultrasonic beacons that release several varied-frequency pulses simultaneously in order to localize the drone. The flight controller returns a 3D coordinate tied to the radiation data to understand precisely where radiation spikes are being emitted from the horn. The flight controller stores log data that can be processed into an easily interpretable map of radiation intensities. The radiation map serves as one of the primary references for planning the transportation of the NuMI horn.

See supporting documentation in the team’s Box drive.