Timothy Grove
Research Mentor(s): Kimberlee Kearfott
Mentor Department: NERS/BME
Authors: Timothy Grove, Anna Dychenko, Kabir Khwaja, Ethan Cheng, Meredith Doan, Kimberlee Kearfott
Session: Session 4 (1:00pm – 1:50pm)
Presentation Type: Poster 17
Abstract
Radiation detection in the field is an uncertain and possibly dangerous task that if conducted with handheld instruments could expose the user to radioactive material. The Intelligent Radiation Awareness Drone is a build-your-own drone that offers a solution to this problem by enabling remote, autonomous radiation detection. Much of iRAD is manufactured additively with carbon fiber filament and incorporates commercial off-the-shelf avionics hardware. Additive manufacturing enables easy customization for different radiation detection payloads and quick turnaround on prototyping new capabilities for the drone. The commercial avionics selected also employs open-source code that can be easily customized to the mission design intended for iRAD-lite. Several improvements were made in the current design iteration of iRAD lite, including an newer flight computer, more powerful LiPo battery, and a re-designed airframe. Metrics for comparison between the drone iterations include cost, range, endurance, and thrust capability. The cost comparison between models focuses on the difference in production of the airframe, the use of different flight computers, and different batteries, as many avionics components are still shared between the two models. Tests for range and endurance inform the mission capabilities of each iteration, while thrust testing will indicate the payload capabilities of each drone. Validation of iRAD Lite will act as confirmation that additive manufacturing is the next step for iRAD in making modular, adaptive drones. Additionally, thorough testing is necessary for any iteration to ensure iRAD is a product that can complete radiation detection missions safely and efficiently.
