The IEC 63047 Standard for Data Transmission in Radiological and Nuclear Robotics Applications

IEC 63047 is a recently introduced binary standard for so-called list-mode data acquisition, which is applicable to data files and streams. The standard is specified using Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1). The format supports various types of time-stamped data and can be used in a wide range of applications involving radiation detection and measurement. It may also be used to represent data from other sensors than radiation detectors and supports positioning data from Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). The standard has a wide potential for CBRNE detection equipment, including robotics. To facilitate the use of the standard, an open-source solution for encoding and decoding IEC 63047 messages has been implemented and tested. In addition, a simple demonstration device was developed from off-the-shelf components. For a better use with unmanned robot systems, a soft-ware interface between IEC 63047 and the Robot Operating System (ROS) was implemented. This paper describes the newly established standard and the demonstration device, and discusses its performance with respect to fulfilling the requirements of the standard and its applicability to typical field conditions for robotics in radiological and nuclear (RN) applications.