A Solar-Rechargeable Radiation Dosimeter Design for Radiation Hazard Zone Located with LoRa Network

Abstract

Since the nuclear energy leakage that occurred at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan, people have paid more attention to the danger of environmental radiation. Environmental radiation is monitored using Geiger counters, which are not easy to obtain in some areas. Therefore, this research proposes an open-source and low-cost handheld Geiger counter that uses solar energy to charge lithium-ion batteries. Our design can provide a low-cost environmental radiation monitoring platform and effectively enhance the public’s scientific education awareness of radiation hazards. The measured dose rate can be output through the serial port, allowing a LoRa wireless network to transmit data to a database. When the sensing network deployed by the radiometer detects that the radiation value of the area is abnormally increased, it can issue an alarm to the government for the first time. Moreover, the low-power radiometer design can reduce energy consumption, reduce the burden on the ecological environment caused by the deployment of the sensing network, and provide sustainability for the environment.