Drone Swarm Maps Radiation Contamination

An interdisciplinary team of twelve cadets from the Radiological and Imaging Data (RAID) Swarm capstone participated in a Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) field demonstration named the ‘Huckleberry Hustle,’ which included cross-DoD, interagency, and international partners. This event took place at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Radiological Response Training Range (RRTR), and enabled cadets to demonstrate their drone swarm technology in an operationally representative environment. The team operated an autonomous swarm of six quadrotors with onboard radiation detectors over a radioactive contamination site, and fused data collected, in real-time, into an activity heat map. Cadets also demonstrated the ability to use fixed-wing drones with an onboard camera to provide over-watch situational awareness of ground CBRNE teams. A total of 44 drone sorties were conducted over the week-long exercise. The team consists of two nuclear engineering, two computer science, three mechanical engineering, three systems engineering, and two electrical engineering majors.