Design Tradeoffs for Radiation Detection Sensor Networks

The detection of hazardous radiation sources is difficult for several reasons. Sensors detect when photons, generated randomly by sources, strike crystals and so sensors don’t get continuous information streams. Radiation emanates from threats but also from walls, the ground and medical patients undergoing radiation treatment. There may be multiple, mobile, evasive sources. The number of parameters is so large that fundamental tradeoffs in designing sensor networks for the problem are unclear. This paper reports on analyses of basic tradeoffs such as mobile versus static sensors; few large sensors versus several small ones; unlimited communication range and bandwidth versus limited range and bandwidth between sensors. The paper restricts attention to detecting sources in a two-dimensional area. Understanding basic tradeoffs such as the reduction in detection time that accrues from increased speed of mobile sensors within a 2D field helps in designing systems for more complex settings such as urban areas with buildings and roads.