Pomelo is an upcoming spectroscopic radiation detector designed to make gamma spectroscopy more accessible and embeddable in various projects. Developed by Pomelo Instrumentation in Bucharest, Romania, the system is modular, allowing users to measure radiation levels, analyse gamma spectra, and identify isotopes. It consists of three components: Pomelo Physics, which houses the detector; Pomelo Core, which is responsible for data collection and transmission; and Pomelo Zest, an Arduino-compatible board with a display, wireless connectivity, and battery support. Together, these modules form Pomelo One, a compact and portable radiation measurement tool.
The device offers real-time radiation tracking, making it useful for applications ranging from field measurements to laboratory experiments. It can detect cosmic muons in coincidence mode, visualise Compton scattering, and integrate with citizen science projects like SafeCast. With a CsI(Tl) scintillator and a silicon photomultiplier, Pomelo provides accurate radiation measurements across an energy range of 50 keV to 3 MeV. The system is designed for flexibility, with configurable settings for SiPM bias voltage, energy thresholds, and UART-based data output.
Pomelo Zest, powered by an ESP32-C6 microcontroller, providing Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Zigbee connectivity, along with a graphical LCD, user buttons, and a microSD slot for data storage. Its built-in 18650 battery support makes it ideal for portable use, while expansion headers allow for further customisation. The low-power design ensures efficient operation, making it suitable for long-term environmental monitoring and educational experiments. The project is fully open-source, with hardware schematics and firmware available for customisation. Users can modify Pomelo to fit their specific needs, whether by integrating a larger display, adding LoRa or cellular connectivity, or tweaking firmware for synchronisation with external sensors. The crowdfunding campaign for Pomelo will launch soon on Crowd Supply, where interested users can sign up for updates and explore its potential for radiation detection and analysis.
