A Remote radiation monitoring system using an autonomous unmanned helicopter for nuclear emergencies

Okuyama, Shinichi ; Torii, Tatsuo  ; Suzuki, Akihiko*; Shibuya, Masanori*; Miyazaki, Nobuyuki*

In case of a nuclear emergency when a large amount of radioactive substances and/or radiation is released from a nuclear facility, emergency radiation monitoring is carried out from the sea and air as well as from the ground adjacent to the facility to evaluate the influence of the radiation on the surrounding environment. As a means of radiation monitoring from the air, aerial monitoring using a manned helicopter is conducted. Although a manned helicopter can monitor a large area during a short time, flight at an altitude of 300 m or lower is prohibited by the Aviation Law in Japan. Therefore, it is difficult for a manned helicopter to measure the radiation profile near the ground and to measure the radiation level in a complicated terrain. In recent years, technologies for autonomous flying of industrial unmanned helicopters have been developed and applied to natural disasters. In expectation of the application of unmanned helicopters to aerial radiation monitoring during a nuclear emergency, we have developed a remote radiation monitoring system and investigated its possibilities.