Detecting Nuclear Materials in Urban Environments Using Mobile Sensor Networks
Radiation detectors installed at major ports of entry are a key component of the overall strategy to protect countries from nuclear terrorism. While the goal of deploying these systems is to intercept special nuclear material as it enters the country, no detector system is foolproof. Mobile, distrib...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/6/2196 |
| _version_ | 1797540565559017472 |
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| author | Robert R. Flanagan Logan J. Brandt Andrew G. Osborne Mark R. Deinert |
| author_facet | Robert R. Flanagan Logan J. Brandt Andrew G. Osborne Mark R. Deinert |
| author_sort | Robert R. Flanagan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Radiation detectors installed at major ports of entry are a key component of the overall strategy to protect countries from nuclear terrorism. While the goal of deploying these systems is to intercept special nuclear material as it enters the country, no detector system is foolproof. Mobile, distributed sensors have been proposed to detect nuclear materials in transit should portal monitors fail to prevent their entry in the first place. In large metropolitan areas, a mobile distributed sensor network could be deployed using vehicle platforms such as taxis, Ubers, and Lyfts, which are already connected to communications infrastructure. However, performance and coverage that could be achieved using a network of sensors mounted on commercial passenger vehicles has not been established. Here, we evaluate how a mobile sensor network could perform in New York City using a combination of radiation transport and geographic information systems. The geographic information system is used in conjunction with OpenStreetMap data to isolate roads and construct a grid over the streets. Vehicle paths are built using pickup and drop off data from Uber, and from the New York State Department of Transportation. The results show that the time to first detection increases with source velocity, decreases with the number of mobile detectors, and reaches a plateau that depends on the strength of the source. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:02:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8990529cd6c04a6593d78761321ab773 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:02:10Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-8990529cd6c04a6593d78761321ab7732023-11-21T11:24:23ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202021-03-01216219610.3390/s21062196Detecting Nuclear Materials in Urban Environments Using Mobile Sensor NetworksRobert R. Flanagan0Logan J. Brandt1Andrew G. Osborne2Mark R. Deinert3Nuclear Science and Engineering, The Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, USAUnited States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Air Force Academy, CO 80840, USANuclear Science and Engineering, The Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, USANuclear Science and Engineering, The Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, USARadiation detectors installed at major ports of entry are a key component of the overall strategy to protect countries from nuclear terrorism. While the goal of deploying these systems is to intercept special nuclear material as it enters the country, no detector system is foolproof. Mobile, distributed sensors have been proposed to detect nuclear materials in transit should portal monitors fail to prevent their entry in the first place. In large metropolitan areas, a mobile distributed sensor network could be deployed using vehicle platforms such as taxis, Ubers, and Lyfts, which are already connected to communications infrastructure. However, performance and coverage that could be achieved using a network of sensors mounted on commercial passenger vehicles has not been established. Here, we evaluate how a mobile sensor network could perform in New York City using a combination of radiation transport and geographic information systems. The geographic information system is used in conjunction with OpenStreetMap data to isolate roads and construct a grid over the streets. Vehicle paths are built using pickup and drop off data from Uber, and from the New York State Department of Transportation. The results show that the time to first detection increases with source velocity, decreases with the number of mobile detectors, and reaches a plateau that depends on the strength of the source.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/6/2196distributed sensorradiation detection |
| spellingShingle | Robert R. Flanagan Logan J. Brandt Andrew G. Osborne Mark R. Deinert Detecting Nuclear Materials in Urban Environments Using Mobile Sensor Networks Sensors distributed sensor radiation detection |
| title | Detecting Nuclear Materials in Urban Environments Using Mobile Sensor Networks |
| title_full | Detecting Nuclear Materials in Urban Environments Using Mobile Sensor Networks |
| title_fullStr | Detecting Nuclear Materials in Urban Environments Using Mobile Sensor Networks |
| title_full_unstemmed | Detecting Nuclear Materials in Urban Environments Using Mobile Sensor Networks |
| title_short | Detecting Nuclear Materials in Urban Environments Using Mobile Sensor Networks |
| title_sort | detecting nuclear materials in urban environments using mobile sensor networks |
| topic | distributed sensor radiation detection |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/6/2196 |
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