Underwater nuke detecting drone

Published 15 August 2011

Unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) could soon be prowling the nation’s coastline to detect radiological and nuclear threats; the underwater drones, developed by New Jersey based Princeton Security Technologies, Inc., are equipped with radiological isotope identification hardware to monitor any changes below the water

Unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) could soon be prowling the nation’s coastline to detect radiological and nuclear threats.

The underwater drones, developed by New Jersey based Princeton Security Technologies, Inc., are equipped with radiological isotope identification hardware to monitor any changes below the water.

The company’s iRobot 1KA Seaglider UUV is capable of measuring the ocean’s temperature, salinity, and radiation along with other critical data that it beams back to a command center using global satellite telemetry.

So far more than 135 Seagliders have been deployed around the world by governments and militaries including the U.S. Navy.

Many nuclear power plants are located along coastlines because they are highly water-intensive,” states Alex Palm, marketing vice president for Princeton Security Technologies. “Our technology, in concert with Seaglider, provides the ability to monitor our oceans for increased levels of radiation. This is an important capability given recent world events.”

Princeton Security Technologies and its subsidiary Princeton Gamma-Tech Instruments Inc. develop X-ray and gamma-ray detectors, spectroscopy systems, and radiation detection area monitors.