Mapping radiation distribution on ground based on the measurement using an unmanned aerial vehicle

Mapping the radiation distribution on ground during a radiological emergency monitoring, or decontamination mission is an important task. Accurate knowledge of the radioactivity distribution can help radiation workers locate the contamination, which reduces unnecessary radiation exposure to personnel and perhaps to some extent also the exposure to the public. Recently, radiation monitoring systems based on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) have been widely studied and employed. However, development of algorithms for mapping the contamination from measured data obtained by the detection system mounted on an UAV is still lacking. In this work, we implemented an advanced statistical reconstruction algorithm for mapping spread and point radiation contamination. The algorithm significantly improves accuracy in the scope and location of radiation contamination.