Smartphone-app for an Interactive Emulation of Various Kinds of Emergency Radiometers for Training (SIEVERT)

In the event of incidents involving nuclear hazards, the correct use of the devices deployed for measuring and monitoring γ-radiation fields is important for the safety of all people involved. Accordingly, realistic training is essential for all personnel who may face such scenarios. Unfortunately, this is currently not feasible on a regular basis, as appropriate radioactive sources are only available at a few training sites and the use of high-activity γ-radiation sources for this purpose imposes unnecessary safety and health risks. Furthermore, commercially available training equipment is too expensive for widespread use and covers only a few aspects. The goal of the SIEVERT project is to create an inexpensive and easy-to-use device for the realistic emulation of dose rate meters in freely definable scenarios. Using low-cost, readily available components, we have already developed a prototype of a device that is able to emulate radiometers using high-precision satellite navigation. It allows any number, kind, activity and age of point sources as well as shielding elements of different nature and thickness, e.g., house walls, to be defined and their coordinates stored. The portable emulators determine their positions relative to the virtual sources and the shields in real-time with a precision of a few centimeters. So, they can continuously calculate and display the equivalent γ-ray dose rates and the resulting doses that would be received at the respective locations in a real scenario. The system also accounts for effects such as inertia, limited measurement accuracy, and background radiation.