Intelligent Automation, Inc. — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: DTRA192-005

Description

In a nuclear battlefield, rapid, reliable, and accurate mapping of the radiation contamination is critical. The radiation mapping is required to perform threat assessment and, during route clearance, to find the safest path that minimizes radiation exposure to the warfighter. Current detection methods using handheld or vehicle-borne detectors are inefficient, labor-intensive, and often limited to small survey areas. Deploying a team of autonomous UAS and UGV carrying radiation detectors has proven to provide a more effective method for scanning a large area. We propose to develop an advanced technology for UAS and UGV-based radiation sensing and mapping, named “Autonomous Radiation detection Tool with 3D Environment Mapping and Integrated Sensing”, or ARTEMIS. ARTEMIS will use intelligent integrated sensing to understand the scene and use context aware dynamic path planning to optimize the search mission. ARTEMIS will generate 3D mapping of the radiation heat map and perform radioactive source localization. Commercial applications include law enforcement, special event security, public safety, fire and EMS agencies and private industries.