Estimating the location of a nuclear source in a three-dimensional environment using a two-stage adaptive algorithm

The problem of locating the source of radioactive emissions using a network of drones fitted with radiation sensors is considered. Estimating the three-dimensional location of a nuclear source is especially difficult in environments in which no sensor can be placed in close proximity to the source. In this paper, a two-stage adaptive algorithm is proposed. In the first stage the drones sit at the center of a building's faces and an approximate location of the radiation source is obtained. Based on the results of the first stage, in the second stage the drones move to additional locations to collect more data. The data from both stages is utilized to obtain a more accurate estimate of the location of the radiation source.