​UAV Systems 

UAV Systems and Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems – commonly known as drones – have provided additional advantages for the use of radiation detectors in radiological mapping. At a fraction of the cost of manned aircraft, they can deploy light weight sensors more rapidly and to more precise locations, as well as deliver 3-D imagery. This ability to take remote measurements makes them the ideal platform for radiation monitoring measurements in areas of difficult access or with elevated radiation hazards. The possibility to fly near the surface improves significantly the attained spatial resolution, allowing to reveal small 'hot' spots. The main drawbacks of use of drones are the limited time of flight, the compromise between payload and time of flight, and the restrictions over flights and air transport of batteries established in various countries.

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​NSIL has been working in the development of UAV based platforms for radiation monitoring since 2012. The first system was built based on an AIBOTIX X6 Hexa-copter with a light detector based on 4 GM tubes, with real-time data processing, GNSS data synchronisation, parallel measurement of altitude above ground and basic data transmission. The detector was calibrated with the radionuclide 137Cs to measure the equivalent dose rate of gamma radiation in the range from natural background to 0.1 mSv/h. For the possibility of identifying radionuclides, another detection module based on the Osprey spectrometer in connection with a LaBr3 detector (1.5x1.5 inch) was developed. This spectrometric UAV module provided an excellent resolution of 2.6% for 662keV, however with limited flight time (~10 min) due to the higher weight of module.