Radiation-detecting Drone

Whether facing a natural or man-made disaster, providing relief and ensuring safety need to be quick and efficient. Drones have played a significant role in assisting with pre- and post-disaster area mapping, search and rescue missions, managing hazardous chemical spills, assessing structural damage, extinguishing wildfires, and delivering emergency infrastructure and supplies.

Even insurance companies have used UAVs to expedite the insurance inspection and claims process without the need to be physically present in a dangerous environment.Drones can identify a critically damaged infrastructure, e.g. broken gas lines, or measure radiation exposure to protect both citizens and relief workers.

Drones have shown great potential in radiation detection and monitoring. Drones’ ability to access hard-to-reach areas and collect real-time data on radiation levels is a significant advancement. Traditional methods often involve manual measurements or stationary monitoring stations, which can be time-consuming and limited in their scope. With the use of drones, radiation detection becomes more efficient and comprehensive.

Fly4Future offers a fully autonomous miniature drone with the ability to navigate and map unknown environments, locate radionuclide sources, and measure radiation intensity. The fact that it is compact enough to fly close to objects and obstacles is a major advantage. This feature enhances the likelihood of detecting radiation sources and provides an accurate mapping of radiation intensity in any given area.

In contrast, other competing solutions often need to fly at higher altitudes, often in the tens of meters, which can limit their effectiveness compared to our drones. Our drones are capable of approaching potentially dangerous objects within centimeters, allowing for greater precision and efficiency. The ability to fly very close to obstacles increases the accuracy of data collection, ensures the safety of personnel involved, and enables precise radiation measurements for effective risk management strategies.

Advanced algorithms and artificial intelligence techniques can analyze and process the data collected by the miniature drones. This speeds up decision-making processes and provides valuable insights into potential risks or areas requiring further investigation.

Fly4Future, in collaboration with our valued partner Advacam, co-developed the miniature drone designed to meet the research needs of the RaDron project. Advacam focused on the development of cameras and advanced imaging methods. The miniature drone can detect and search for stationary and moving sources of ionizing radiation (e.g., Cs-137, Co-60, Co-57, Eu-152).

The unique miniature Compton camera sensor MiniPIX Timepix3, developed by Advacam, facilitates radiation detection. The onboard software is the result of research by our partner, the MRS group at CTU in Prague. The drone system has been tested, with the support of the Czech Metrology Institute (CMI), during numerous civil defense exercises with the National Institute for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Protection (SUJCHBO) and the National Radiation Institute (NRI) in Řež.

Fly4Future in cooperation with Advacam, is currently working on the commercializing the results of the RaDron research project.