Integrating the radiation source position into a grid map of the environment using a mobile robot

Abstract

In this paper, we present a detection method to identify the radiation source position and visualize the surrounding area. Using a mobile robot capable of autonomous positioning, four main steps can be followed to map an environment with radiation sources. First, a fast simultaneous localization and mapping system is used to build an occupancy grid map to display the entire physical zone. Secondly, the robot collects data on the radiation parameters along the appointed detection path. Thirdly, a Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm estimates the source position coordinates and intensity. Finally, a map with the source position is formatted to describe the radiation field. The experiment demonstrated that this method is feasible and allows visualization of a nuclear radiation environment.