Radiation monitoring drone secures £15,000 funding prize

A team from Bristol University wins a Royal Academy of Engineering award for its AARM system

A remote system to safely and accurately assess nuclear accident sites has been awarded funding from the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Dr James MacFarlane and his team at University of Bristol have developed the system to remotely assess radiological hazards across the nuclear industry, providing real-time information on the source, intensity and location of radiation.

The Advanced Airborne Radiation Monitoring (AARM) system integrates an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a lightweight gamma spectrometer and other positional sensors. It is lightweight and low cost, and able to capture high resolution images.

The AARM system could significantly improve the safety and effectiveness of hazard response operations, including rapid response monitoring of nuclear events. The system also supports routine monitoring at nuclear sites and naturally occurring radioactive materials at mining operations and oil and gas facilities.

Field demonstrations of the prototype have already been performed at a Uranium mining site in Banat, southwest Romania, and validated against traditional surveying methods.

Macfarlane said: “The AARM system has had a great reception within the nuclear industry, which reiterates to us that there is a real need for the capability it provides in the nuclear energy sector. Our technology is not only timely and novel, but will also be a massive benefit in the day-to-day processes of the nuclear industry.”

The team behind AARM will receive a £15,000 development fund as a winner of the ERA Foundation Entrepreneurs Award, along with a £5,000 personal award and mentoring from renowned engineers Professor Richard Brook FREng and Professor Eric Yeatman FREng.