With the approaching HackADay prize stage 3 competition, a new uRADMonitor Video has been added according to the competition’s rules.

The uRADMonitor is a digital radiation dosimeter, enclosed in a rugged aluminium case. Designed to function as nodes, in a distributed network of radiation monitors,the uRADMonitor units are working together to achieve environmental radiation surveillance on a global scale.

Connectivity is a key element of the uRADMonitor design. All units are reporting the readings to a centralized server, where anyone interested can evaluate radiation levels all across the globe.
The devices can be employed in local, personal use, when one needs to constantly monitor a particular location. But the true advantage of this technology comes on a larger scale, where multiple units are working together, to help us understand variations in radiation levels, as affected by weather factors (like wind or rain) or geographic location. This is how the value and interest in this technology moves from personal use, to corporate, scientific or community applications.
By interconnecting a large number of radiation monitors, we are permanently informed on abnormal variations, helping us to protect our health and interests. The units are low power, needing practically no maintaince work and the setup is easy with only a cable to connect to the power supply and an Ethernet cable to connect the uRADMonitor to the Internet router.
Because the network is using the same type of detectors, manually tested and checked against a common reference, all numbers and charts are comparable from one location to another, making it easy to understand changes and differences.

Taking advantage of a clean, innovative design, the path from prototyping to production was shortened considerably. We’ve improved the power consumption, the size of electronics and the number of components involved. The internal high voltage circuits are functioning side by side with the digital signal paths, showing excellent stability. Our tests went as far as months of continuous runs for observing all system parameters. Now we are proud of the result. With under 1Watt consumption, the uRADMonitor units can run on almost any power source, including green, regenerable sources like solar or wind.
Designed as distributed measuring units, with the entire infrastructure already implemented, the current design can be extended for other uses, for example adding air sensors for monitoring its quality. Or U.V. sensors for the sun activity, rain and wind sensors to complement the radiation data.

There is already a large volume of data flowing trough the uRADMonitor network every minute. We’ve centralized all data and made it available on the webportal. Everyone can understand the readings, even those without a technical background. The radiation data is shown in charts, where normal behaviour implies a constant level with minor fluctiations. In case of nuclear incidents or any other unwanted events, the raising trend will be a clear indication that something is changing. This trully goes beyond numbers and radiation physics: the simplified way of showing the data, combined with the uniformity of the network is yet another important innovative feature introduced by the uRADMonitor design. This is probably the first network of this kind, that has reached this level of uniformity on a global scale.

We designed the uRADMonitor so it can be produced at reduced costs, allowing the network to grow rapidly.
As a result, the uRADMonitor units have been easily put into production, with the first Model A available for immediate deployment.
The next variants are on the design board, as this is only the begining of more exciting and innovative technologies that will follow.