Year
2004
Abstract
Commercially available IPix cameras and software are being researched as a means by which an inspector can be virtually immersed into a nuclear facility. A single IPix camera can provide 360- by180-degree views with full pan-tilt-zoom capability, and with no moving parts on the camera mount. Immersive video technology can be merged into the current Unattended and Remote Monitoring (UNARM) system, thereby providing an integrated system of monitoring capabilities that tie together radiation, video, isotopic analysis, Global Positioning System (GPS), etc. The integration of the immersive video capability with other monitoring methods already in place provides a significantly enhanced situational awareness to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors. Introduction The Unattended and Remote Monitoring (UNARM) system developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Safeguards Science and Technology Group was originally developed in the 1980s. It is a comprehensive system that contains functional elements for the detection, collection, and review of safeguards data.1 The system is principally used by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), but has begun being used in areas of homeland defense initiatives. UNARM is an integrated system of varying instrument types that sense an environment on different levels. One type of instrument used in the UNARM system, for purposes of surveillance, is the digital camera. The camera that is currently certified and used by the IAEA in their UNARM systems is the DCM-14 camera, manufactured and produced by Aquila Corporation. The DCM-14 camera produces 640 by 480 resolution black and white images. The image files produced by the DCM- 14 camera are a nonstandard, proprietary, JPG format. The IAEA is currently in the process of planning for the replacement of existing camera systems with the next-generation surveillance system (NGSS); requirements for the NGSS are under development. As proof of principle, and for purposes of testing the new modular and component-based architecture developed by LANL for the UNARM system, LANL engaged in an exercise of testing whether generic cameras could be supported by the UNARM software and easily integrated.2 The evaluation that was performed called for the use of commercially available surveillance cameras. The only requirement for the camera(s) that would be evaluated is that the cameras produce nonproprietary, standard image formatted files and be accessible through a computer network. Image file types generated by the camera could include any of the following VIFF, TIFF, BMP, or JPEG.