radiation mapping in post-disaster environments using an autonomous helicopter辐射映射在灾后环境中使用一个自主直升机.pdfVIP

Remote Sens. 2012, 4, 1995-2015; doi:10.3390/rs4071995 OPEN ACCESS Remote Sensing ISSN 2072-4292 /journal/remotesensing Article Radiation Mapping in Post-Disaster Environments Using an Autonomous Helicopter Jerry Towler , Bryan Krawiec and Kevin Kochersberger Southwest Research Institute, 6220 Culebra Rd., San Antonio, TX 78238, USA Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech, 100S Randolph Hall, MC 0238, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA; E-Mails: bkraw88@ (B.K.); kbk@ (K.K.) Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: jerry.towler@; Tel.: +1-864-423-4924. Received: 7 May 2012; in revised form: 2 July 2012 / Accepted: 2 July 2012 / Published: 5 July 2012 Abstract: Recent events have highlighted the need for unmanned remote sensing in dangerous areas, particularly where structures have collapsed or explosions have occurred, to limit hazards to first responders and increase their efficiency in planning response operations. In the case of the Fukushima nuclear reactor explosion, an unmanned helicopter capable of obtaining overhead images, gathering radiation measurements, and mapping both the structural and radiation content of the environment would have given the response team invaluable data early in the disaster, thereby allowing them to understand the extent of the damage and areas where dangers to personnel existed. With this motivation, the Unmanned Systems Lab at Virginia Tech has developed a remote sensing system for radiation detection and aerial ima