Application of miniaturized sensors to unmanned aerial vehicles, a new pathway for the survey of critical areas

Last decades the increasing of threats associated with Chemical and Radiological (C/R) agents pushed the development need for new tools to detect and identify the hazardous nature without put in danger first responders inside the contaminated area. A particularly promising branch of these technological applications is related to the integration with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) of different detectors and sampling systems. The adoption of this equipment could bring significant benefits for both military and civilian implementations. For instance, these equipped vehicles could be used in support of specialistic military teams such as the Sampling and Identification of Biological, Chemical and Radiological Agents (SIBCRA) team, tasked to perform a survey in contaminated areas, to exploit the presence of C/R substances infield. We would become able to minimize or completely avoid the exposure of personnel and to better support the Command Decision Making in the choice of personal protective equipment (PPE) to be employed in the hazard area. Moreover, it could be possible to assess the exact position of the hotspot, without losing the evidence in case of late access, even in case of volatile substances. Indeed, promptness is one of the crucial aspects in the monitoring of accidental or intentional release in the environment. Once the release has been noticed, several preparatory activities must be accomplished to grant the access to the hotspot and avoid unacceptable risks for the team, including the clearance from Improvised Explosive Devices (IED). Those actions could last for hours or days, and meanwhile may occur a loss of evidence about the dynamics of the accident, especially in case of substances with a labile persistence [1] [2]. The development of a tool to reduce the exposure of personnel in case of intentional or accidental toxic chemicals dispersions, opens the field to new operational perspectives in the domain of operator’s safety and critical infrastructure monitoring. The use of two sensors with different working principles, Metal-Oxide (MOX) and Photo Ionization Detector (PID), allows confirming the presence of specific classes of chemicals in a contaminated area. All instruments should be integrated on the payload of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and used for different purposes like the surveillance of critical infrastructure focused on the Volatile Organic Chemical (VOC) and Chemical Warfare Agents (CWA) detection and the post-incident level of contamination monitoring. Furthermore, this equipment could find dual-use application in the civil world in support of emergency team during early rescue phases after an industrial accident and in the customary monitoring activities of critical infrastructures. This research project is aimed to develop a demonstrator for a multi-sensor UAV for safe observation. Additionally, specific training for piloting in critical scenarios will be developed. Finally, standard operating procedures will be settled to perform the UAV decontamination between one task and the subsequent, to avoid cross-contamination between two missions, and perform the enhanced decontamination once the whole task is accomplished. The project foresees the integration of miniaturized features for detection and sampling to a remotely controlled flying platform (UAV) of “mini” category (MUAV payload less than 25 kg) able to conduct a complete survey and a forensic sampling with the required chain of custody documentation that follows the sample in the way to lower the exposure of personnel, civil defence or military personnel, with a drastic reduction of casualties and time loss. Moreover, the apparatus will be provided with a Global Positioning System (GPS) able to geo-locate the point in which a release had been notified. Several laboratory tests campaigns have been conducted between academies and military entities, such as the laboratories of the Industrial Engineering Department (IEDUTV) and the Chemistry Department (CDUTV) of the University of Rome Tor Vergata, the Joint NBC Defence School of Rieti and the Joint Technical Logistic Centre (CeTLI NBC) of Civitavecchia, with the main objective to test the capabilities of chemical sensors which will be part of the system mounted on the Aerial Vehicle for: - chemical detection; - data acquisition; - geo-localization of the release point; - local serial communication; - radio frequency communication. Components chosen for this application have been selected with the premises and based on the results of a market enquiry conducted on each significant component on the basis of the technical requirements identified. The main objective of the laboratory investigations is to assess the suitability of the selected chemical sensors for their employ on a UAV for investigation of areas invested by chemical warfare agents (CWA) and its response to the treatment with a decontamination system dedicated to sensitive equipment