Study of an integrated system for the control and surveillance of nuclear materials

An integrated system for the control and surveillance of nuclear materials has been developed. Its objective is to integrate data from various sensors in a comprehensive architecture. Sensors that are normally used to ensure the security of radioactive materials are considered: motion detection sensors, a radiation device and a camera. Correlating data from these sensors may improve the global efficiency of the safeguards system. The system is based on 'smart sensors' (i.e. sensors able to achieve a local algorithm to analyse data, to send and read data from other sensors, to send a state of health status, and to integrate other information such as serial number and name of the manufacturer) and a network of sensors. A first application with a camera, on/off sensors and a radiation sensor has been developed using such a field network based on factory instrumentation protocol (FIP) technology. FIP is a normalized and opened protocol, dedicated to an industrial environment, that enables communication between smart sensors and actuators on a network. (author)