Remote radiation imaging system using a compact gamma-ray imager mounted on a multicopter drone

A remote radiation imaging system comprising a lightweight Compton camera and a multicopter drone was developed to remotely and quickly measure radioactive contamination inside the buildings of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS). The drone system is used for measuring detailed radiation distributions in narrow areas, which have been difficult to gauge with conventional aircraft monitoring using helicopters. A measurement of radiation distributions in outdoor environments in the coastal areas of Fukushima, Japan, was performed. The drone system with the Compton camera succeeded in remote observations of dense hotspots from the sky over a contaminated area near the FDNPS. The time required for image reconstruction is approximately 550 s in the case of a 9-m flight altitude for the hotspots with a surface dose rate of several tens of µSv/h. This drone system will be used inside the buildings of the FDNPS for remote measurement of radioactive contamination.