Robust and Scalable Tracking of Radiation Sources with Cheap Binary Proximity Sensors
For applications needing low-cost radiation source tracking, this paper provides a novel theoretical framework but is incremental as it builds on known sensor concepts.
This work develops a scalable method for tracking radiation sources using cheap binary proximity sensors, requiring only three sensors for linear trajectories and six for parabolic trajectories in noise-free conditions, with robustness demonstrated through simulations.
We present a new approach to tracking of radiation sources moving on smooth trajectories which can be approximated with piece-wise linear joins or piece-wise linear parabolas. We employ the use of cheap binary proximity sensors which only indicate when a radiation source enters and leaves its sensing range. We present two separate cases. The first is considering that the trajectory can be approximated with piece-wise linear joins. We develop a novel scalable approach in terms of the number of sensors required. Robustness analysis is done with respect to uncertainties in the timing recordings by the radiation sensors. We show that in the noise free case, a minimum of three sensors will suffice to recover one piece of the linear join with probability one, even in the absence of knowledge of the speed and statistics of the radiation source. Second, we tackle a more realistic approximation of trajectories of radiation sources -- piece-wise parabolic joins -- and show that no more than six sensors are required in the noise free case to track one piece of the parabola with probability one. Next we present an upper bound on the achievable error variance in the estimation of the constant speed and the angle of elevation of linear trajectories. Finally, a comprehensive set of simulations are presented to illustrate the robustness of our approach in the presence of uncertainties.