Physics and optimal routing for urban radiation source search

This paper describes an optimization-based planning tool to assist planners in developing strategies for searching an urban area with gamma-ray detectors for the presence of a radiation source. Current search strategies (path and speed) are based on simple rules (e.g., move at normal traffic speed) and constrained by road networks and resources such as detection equipment, personnel, vehicles or time. By exploiting knowledge of the urban area, and simple properties of radiation physics, the planning tool computes the optimal time allocation of detectors to road segments, including search vehicle routes, to achieve better search performance with the same limited resources (e.g., increased probability of detection for the same search assets and time, or less time to cover the same area with a given level of confidence).