Radiation Detection Group

The Radiation Compass is a direction-sensitive radiation detector designed for use as part of a low-cost, autonomous radiological search tool based on an unmanned aerial system (UAS) platform. The normalized count rate from the symmetric panel array forms a characteristic detector response, generated by the passive masking of the detector panels, that is used to estimate the direction in which the radiological source is located. The Radiation Compass was designed and built using low-cost, lightweight, rugged components to afford the UAS-based system wide applicability and long flight times. The UAS-based radiological search system would remove the need for human teams to search potentially hazardous areas in emergency response, national security, and battlefield assessment scenarios