Acoustic Cameras for Nuclear Safeguards

Acoustic camera technology, traditionally used for industrial diagnostics, is emerging as a promising tool for international nuclear safeguards to ensure the accuracy and reliability of nuclear monitoring and compliance. By capturing and visualizing sound waves with high spatial resolution, acoustic cameras can provide non-invasive and real-time monitoring of processes within a nuclear facility. Acoustic cameras are devices typically equipped with an array of microphones and coupled with an imaging system, such as a camera. The device captures sound waves and translates them into visual representations, such as in the form of a heat map overlaid on an image or video. Acoustic camera technology is now heavily commercialized and has been scaled down to handheld instruments for industrial walkdowns and inspections. This technology has yet to be applied to international nuclear safeguards. Portable acoustic cameras open many possibilities for IAEA inspectors. An acoustic image could determine which components in a facility are real, operating, and possibly even age date components based on their acoustic frequencies. Continuous monitoring by an acoustic camera could also improve security. Acoustic images are significantly more difficult to manufacture artificially due to the dynamic nature of background sounds. The goal of this work is to identify commercial solutions and perform measurements in a facility to 1) Explore operational signatures associated with critical processes used in nuclear materials handling; 2) Visualize real time acoustic patterns which may enable rapid identification of deviations from expected operational baselines; and 3) Determine ways in which the acoustic data could be analyzed using machine learning algorithms to develop predictive models for anomaly detection. These cameras could improve current IAEA surveillance techniques, by identifying and localizing operational anomalies such as unanticipated mechanical vibrations or process irregularities, and may improve the ability of the IAEA inspectorate to detect undeclared activities and monitor decommissioned facilities.