Simulation and Implementation of Distributed Sensor Network for Radiation Detection

Author: Liu, Annie Hsin-Wen

Year: 2010

Degree: Master's thesis

Advisor: Chandy, K. Mani

Committee Member: None, None

Option: Computer Science

DOI: 10.7907/XF1E-XW61

Abstract

The problem of monitoring and searching for threats that involve radiological weapons is extremely challenging because of he high variance in background radiation, the presence of benign sources and possible shielding on harmful sources. We present in this thesis a collection of algorithms and analysis that center around the problem of radiation detection with a distributed sensor network. We studied the basic characteristics of a radiation sensor network and focused on the tradeoffs between false positive rate, true positive rate, and time to detect one or more radiation sources in a large area. Three major results came out from this thesis work. First of all, we developed a simulation platform modified from multiplayer game engine that is capable of simulating realistic data in highly dynamic environments. Secondly, we provided mathematical and simulation analyses regarding critical system parameters such the number of sensors, sensor placement, and sensor placement. We also introduced a robust data fusion and parameter estimation method based on Bayesian framework. Lastly, we described an initial work to construct a ground mobile sensor for indoor search and surveillance purposes.

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