A collaborative project has developed radiation detection systems that can be built into industry standard entrance control systems, supporting the prevention of illegal radioactive material transportation.
Project Gatekeeper, a collaborative research project between the University of Bristol, AWE, Royal Mail and Gunnebo aimed to be able to detect radioactive materials potentially carried by individuals as they transit through the transport network. A Gunnebo SpeedGate embedded with low cost detectors and triggering algorithms was developed by researchers at the University of Bristol.
Using custom electronics integrated directly into the barrier, the covert system can detect, locate and alert authorities to the unauthorised transport of gamma-emitting materials in real-time. The SpeedGate is a system widely used around the world to provide access control within buildings, airports, transport hubs and at other secure key infrastructure locations.
This work demonstrated the successful identification of a detection system that is cheaper and more covert than existing infrastructure. It can also be retrofitted to existing equipment.
Research Paper available Open Access
The full paper is available Open Access and can be accessed via the link below.
Full citation: Martin, P.G.; Verbelen, Y.; Sciama Bandel, E.; Andrews, M.; Scott, T.B. Project Gatekeeper: An Entrance Control System Embedded Radiation Detection Capability for Security Applications. Sensors 2020, 20, 2957.
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