Ground Penetrating Radar 2018, Volume 1, Issue 1, GPR-1-1-5,   https://doi.org/10.26376/GPR2018005

A practical guide on using SPOT-GPR, a freeware tool implementing a SAP-DoA technique

Simone Meschino and Lara Pajewski

Full text: PDF [1.5 MB, open access]

Abstract:   This is a software paper, which main objective is to provide practical information on how to use SPOT-GPR release 1.0, a MATLAB®-based software for the analysis of ground penetrating radar (GPR) profiles. The software allows detecting targets and estimating their position in a two-dimensional scenario, it has a graphical user interface and implements an innovative sub-array processing method. SPOT-GPR was developed in the framework of the COST Action TU1208 “Civil Engineering Applications of Ground Penetrating Radar” and is available for free download on the website of the Action (www.GPRadar.eu).

Keywords:  Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR); detection and localization of buried structures; Ssub-array processing (SAP); Direction of Arrival (DoA) algorithms; matched filter technique.

Introduction

SPOT-GPR [1] stands for “Sub-array Processing Open Tool for GPR applications” and is a MATLAB®-based software for the analysis of ground penetrating radar (GPR) profiles, with the main purposes of detecting and localizing targets. The tool comes with a graphical user interface (GUI) and implements an innovative sub-array processing (SAP) method, which exploits smart-antenna and radar algorithms. SPOT-GPR was developed during three Short-Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) funded by European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST, www.cost.eu) and carried out in the framework of the COST Action TU1208 “Civil Engineering Applications of Ground Penetrating Radar.” The software is available for free download on the website of the Action (www.GPRadar.eu).

The input of the software is a GPR profile (otherwise called ‘B-scan’ or ‘radargram’ by the GPR community). This is partitioned in sub-radargrams, with just a few traces (‘A-scans’) per sub-radargram. The multi-frequency information enclosed in each trace is exploited and a dominant direction of arrival (DoA) [2] of the electromagnetic field is calculated for every sub-radargram. All the estimated DoAs are triangulated and a pattern of crossings is obtained, which is more densely populated around target locations. Such pattern is filtered, in order to remove a noisy background of unwanted crossings, and is then processed by applying a statistical procedure. Finally, the number of targets and their positions are predicted. For DoA estimation, SPOT-GPR uses the MUltiple SIgnal Classification (MUSIC) [3] algorithm, in combination with the matched filter technique [4]. A description of the method implemented in SPOT-GPR, including detailled information about its advantages and limits, is found in [1].

SPOT-GPR was successfully tested on GPR synthetic radargrams, generated by using the open-source finite-difference time-domain simulator gprMax [5] (www.gprmax.com). Moreover, it was compared with MATLAB® codes implementing two different methods, with good results: a classical hyperbola analysis based on a minimum mean square error technique [6] (see [1]), and an advanced algorithm for the localization of hyperbola apexes and characteristic points based on artificial neural networks and pattern recognition [7-9] (this comparison is not yet published at the time when this paper is written).

The present paper aims to provide practical information on how to use SPOT-GPR and includes some examples. It is advised to read [1] before reading the following sections of this paper and using the software.

To continue reading, please download the full text: PDF [1.5 MB, open access]

References

[1] S. Meschino and L. Pajewski, “SPOT-GPR: A Freeware Tool for Target Detection and Localization in GPR Data Developed within the COST Action TU1208,” Journal of Telecommunications and Information Technology, 2017, vol. 3, pp.43-54, doi.org/10.26636/jtit.2017.121017.

[2] S. Chandran, Advances in Direction-of-Arrival Estimation. Norwood, MA: Artech House, 2005.

[3] R. Kumaresan and D. W. Tufts, “Estimating the angles of arrival of multiple plane waves,” IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 13–139, 1983, doi.org/10.1109/TAES.1983.309427.

[4] C. E. Cook and M. Bernfeld, Radar Signals: An Introduction to Theory and Application, 1st ed. Artech House Radar Library, 1993.

[5] C. Warren, A. Giannopoulos, and I. Giannakis, “gprMax: Open source software to simulate electromagnetic wave propagation for Ground Penetrating Radar,” Computer Physics Communications, vol. 209, pp. 163–170, 2016, doi.org/10.1016/j.cpc.2016.08.020.

[6] Bello. Y. Idi and Md. N. Kamarudin, “Utility mapping with Ground Penetrating Radar: an innovative approach,” Journal of American Science, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 644–649, 2011.

[7] A. Ristić, Ž. Bugarinović, M. Vrtunski, M. Govedarica and D. Petrovački, "Integration of modern remote sensing technologies for faster utility mapping and data extraction," Construction and Building Materials, vol. 154, pp. 1183-1198, 2017, doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.07.030.

[8] A. Ristic, Z. Bugarinovic, M. Govedarica, L. Pajewski, and X. Derobert, “Verification of Algorithm for Point Extraction from Hyperbolic Reflections in GPR Data,” 9th International Workshop on Advanced Ground Penetrating Radar (IWAGPR 2017), 28-30 June 2017, Nantes, France, pp. 1-5, doi.org/10.1109/IWAGPR.2017.7996109.

[9] A. Ristic, M. Vrtunski, M. Govedarica, L. Pajewski, and X. Derobert, “Automated Data Extraction from Synthetic and Real Radargrams of District Heating Pipelines,” 9th InternationalWorkshop on Advanced Ground Penetrating Radar (IWAGPR 2017), 28-30 June 2017, Nantes, France, pp. 1-5, doi.org/10.1109/IWAGPR.2017.7996046.

[10] L. Pajewski, A. Giannopoulos, “Electromagnetic modelling of Ground Penetrating Radar responses to complex targets,” Short Term Scientific Missions and Training Schools – Year 1, COST Action TU1208, L. Pajewski & M. Marciniak, Eds., Aracne Editrice, Rome, Italy, May 2014, ISBN 978-88-548-7225-7, pp. 7-45.

[11] M. Pastorino and A. Randazzo, "A smart antenna system for direction of arrival estimation based on a support vector regression," in IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, vol. 53, no. 7, pp. 2161-2168, July 2005, doi.org//10.1109/TAP.2005.850735.

Share & Cite this article

Unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium of this article is permitted, provided the original article is properly cited.   Please cite this article as follows: S. Meschino and L. Pajewski, "A practical guide on using SPOT-GPR, a freeware tool implementing a SAP-DoA technique," Ground Penetrating Radar, Volume 1, No. 1, Article ID GPR-1-1-5, pp. 104-122, January 2018, doi: 10.26376/GPR2018005.

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