Timepix Radiation Detector for Autonomous Radiation Localization and Mapping by Micro Unmanned Vehicles

AbstraktAbstract

A system for measuring radiation intensity and for radiation mapping by a micro unmanned robot using the Timepix detector is presented in this paper. Timepix detectors are extremely small, but powerful 14x14 mm, 256x256 px CMOS hybrid pixel detectors, capable of measuring ionizing alpha, beta, gamma radiation, and heaving ions. The detectors, developed at CERN, produce an image free of any digital noise thanks to per-pixel calibration and signal digitization. Traces of individual ionizing particles passing through the sensors can be resolved in the detector images. Particle type and energy estimates can be extracted automatically using machine learning algorithms. This opens unique possibilities in the task of flexible radiation detection by very small unmanned robotic platforms. The detectors are well suited for the use of mobile robots thanks to their small size, lightweight, and minimal power consumption. This sensor is especially appealing for micro aerial vehicles due to their high maneuverability, which can increase the range and resolution of such novel sensory system. We present a ROS-based readout software and real-time image processing pipeline and review options for 3-D localization of radiation sources using pixel detectors. The provided software supports off-the-shelf FITPix, USB Lite readout electronics with Timepix detectors.

A system for measuring radiation intensity and for radiation mapping by a micro unmanned robot using the Timepix detector is presented in this paper. Timepix detectors are extremely small, but powerful 14x14 mm, 256x256 px CMOS hybrid pixel detectors, capable of measuring ionizing alpha, beta, gamma radiation, and heaving ions. The detectors, developed at CERN, produce an image free of any digital noise thanks to per-pixel calibration and signal digitization. Traces of individual ionizing particles passing through the sensors can be resolved in the detector images. Particle type and energy estimates can be extracted automatically using machine learning algorithms. This opens unique possibilities in the task of flexible radiation detection by very small unmanned robotic platforms. The detectors are well suited for the use of mobile robots thanks to their small size, lightweight, and minimal power consumption. This sensor is especially appealing for micro aerial vehicles due to their high maneuverability, which can increase the range and resolution of such novel sensory system. We present a ROS-based readout software and real-time image processing pipeline and review options for 3-D localization of radiation sources using pixel detectors. The provided software supports off-the-shelf FITPix, USB Lite readout electronics with Timepix detectors.