62 research outputs found
Target detection in clutter for sonar imagery
This thesis is concerned with the analysis of side-looking sonar images, and specif-
ically with the identification of the types of seabed that are present in such images,
and with the detection of man-made objects in such images. Side-looking sonar
images are, broadly speaking, the result of the physical interaction between acous-
tic waves and the bottom of the sea. Because of this interaction, the types of
seabed appear as textured areas in side-looking sonar images. The texture descrip-
tors commonly used in the field of sonar imagery fail at accurately identifying the
types of seabed because the types of seabed, hence the textures, are extremely
variable. In this thesis, we did not use the traditional texture descriptors to identify
the types of seabed. We rather used scattering operators which recently appeared
in the field of signal and image processing. We assessed how well the types of
seabed are identified through two inference algorithms, one based on affine spaces,
and the other based on the concept of similarity by composition. This thesis is
also concerned with the detection of man-made objects in side-looking sonar im-
ages. An object detector may be described as a method which, when applied to
a certain number of sonar images, produces a set of detections. Some of these
are true positives, and correspond to real objects. Others are false positives, and
do not correspond to real objects. The present object detectors suffer from a
high false positive rate in complex environments, that is to say, complex types
of seabed. The hypothesis we will follow is that it is possible to reduce the
number of false positives through a characterisation of the similarity between the
detections and the seabed, the false positives being by nature part of the seabed.
We will use scattering operators to represent the detections and the same two
inference algorithms to quantify how similar the detections are to the seabed
Sonar image interpretation for sub-sea operations
Mine Counter-Measure (MCM) missions are conducted to neutralise underwater
explosives. Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) assists operators by
increasing the speed and accuracy of data review. ATR embedded on vehicles
enables adaptive missions which increase the speed of data acquisition. This
thesis addresses three challenges; the speed of data processing, robustness of
ATR to environmental conditions and the large quantities of data required to
train an algorithm.
The main contribution of this thesis is a novel ATR algorithm. The algorithm
uses features derived from the projection of 3D boxes to produce a set of 2D
templates. The template responses are independent of grazing angle, range
and target orientation. Integer skewed integral images, are derived to accelerate
the calculation of the template responses. The algorithm is compared
to the Haar cascade algorithm. For a single model of sonar and cylindrical
targets the algorithm reduces the Probability of False Alarm (PFA) by 80%
at a Probability of Detection (PD) of 85%. The algorithm is trained on target
data from another model of sonar. The PD is only 6% lower even though no
representative target data was used for training.
The second major contribution is an adaptive ATR algorithm that uses local
sea-floor characteristics to address the problem of ATR robustness with
respect to the local environment. A dual-tree wavelet decomposition of the
sea-floor and an Markov Random Field (MRF) based graph-cut algorithm is
used to segment the terrain. A Neural Network (NN) is then trained to filter
ATR results based on the local sea-floor context. It is shown, for the Haar
Cascade algorithm, that the PFA can be reduced by 70% at a PD of 85%.
Speed of data processing is addressed using novel pre-processing techniques.
The standard three class MRF, for sonar image segmentation, is formulated
using graph-cuts. Consequently, a 1.2 million pixel image is segmented in
1.2 seconds. Additionally, local estimation of class models is introduced to
remove range dependent segmentation quality. Finally, an A* graph search
is developed to remove the surface return, a line of saturated pixels often
detected as false alarms by ATR. The A* search identifies the surface return
in 199 of 220 images tested with a runtime of 2.1 seconds. The algorithm is
robust to the presence of ripples and rocks
Deep learning for internet of underwater things and ocean data analytics
The Internet of Underwater Things (IoUT) is an emerging technological ecosystem developed for connecting objects in maritime and underwater environments. IoUT technologies are empowered by an extreme number of deployed sensors and actuators. In this thesis, multiple IoUT sensory data are augmented with machine intelligence for forecasting purposes
Advances in Detection and Classification of Underwater Targets using Synthetic Aperture Sonar Imagery
In this PhD thesis, the problem of underwater mine detection and classification using
synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) imagery is considered. The automatic detection and
automatic classification (ADAC) system is applied to images obtained by SAS systems.
The ADAC system contains four steps, namely mine-like object (MLO) detection, image
segmentation, feature extraction, and mine type classification. This thesis focuses
on the last three steps.
In the mine-like object detection step, a template-matching technique based on the a
priori knowledge of mine shapes is applied to scan the sonar imagery for the detection
of MLOs. Regions containing MLOs are called regions of interest (ROI). They are
extracted and forwarded to the subsequent steps, i.e. image segmentation and feature
extraction.
In the image segmentation step, a modified expectation-maximization (EM) approach
is proposed. For the sake of acquiring the shape information of the MLO in the ROI, the
SAS images are segmented into highlights, shadows, and backgrounds. A generalized
mixture model is adopted to approximate the statistics of the image data. In addition,
a Dempster-Shafer theory-based clustering technique is used to consider the spatial
correlation between pixels so that the clutters in background regions can be removed.
Optimal parameter settings for the proposed EM approach are found with the help of
quantitative numerical studies.
In the feature extraction step, features are extracted and will be used as the inputs
for the mine type classification step. Both the geometrical features and the texture
features are applied. However, there are numerous features proposed to describe the
object shape and the texture in the literature.
Due to the curse of dimensionality, it is indispensable to do the feature selection during
the design of an ADAC system. A sophisticated filter method is developed to choose
optimal features for the classification purpose. This filter method utilizes a novel
feature relevance measure that is a combination of the mutual information, the modified
Relief weight, and the Shannon entropy. The selected features demonstrate a higher
generalizability. Compared with other filter methods, the features selected by our
method can lead to superior classification accuracy, and their performance variation
over different classifiers is decreased.
In the mine type classification step, the prediction of the types of MLO is considered. In
order to take advantage of the complementary information among different classifiers, a classifier combination scheme is developed in the framework of the Dempster-Shafer
theory. The outputs of individual classifiers are combined according to this classifier
combination scheme. The resulting classification accuracy is better than those of
individual classifiers.
All of the proposed methods are evaluated using SAS data. Finally, conclusions are
drawn, and some suggestions about future works are proposed as well
Quantitative Comparison of Benthic Habitat Maps Derived From Multibeam Echosounder Backscatter Data
In the last decade, following the growing concern for the conservation of marine ecosystems, a wide range of approaches has been developed to achieve the identification, classification and mapping of seabed types and of benthic habitats. These approaches, commonly grouped under the denominations of Benthic Habitat Mapping or Acoustic Seabed Classification, exploit the latest scientific and engineering advancements for the exploration of the bottom of the ocean, particularly in underwater acoustics. Among all acoustic seabed-mapping systems available for this purpose, a growing interest has recently developed for Multibeam Echosounders (MBES). This interest is mainly the result of the multiplicity of these systems’ outputs (that is, bathymetry, backscatter mosaic, angular response and water-column data), which allows for multiple approaches to seabed or habitat classification and mapping. While this diversity of mapping approaches and this multiplicity of MBES data products contribute to an increasing quality of the charting of the marine environment, they also unfortunately delay the future standardization of mapping methods, which is required for their effective integration in marine environment management strategies. As a preliminary step towards such standardization, there is a need for generalized efforts of comparison of systems, data products, and mapping approaches, in order to assess the most effective ones given mapping objectives and environment conditions. The main goal of this thesis is to contribute to this effort through the development and implementation of tools and methods for the comparison of categorical seabed or habitat maps, with a specific focus on maps obtained from up-to-date methodologies of classification of MBES backscatter data. This goal is attained through the achievement of specific objectives treated sequentially. First, the need for comparison is justified through a review of the diversity characterizing the fields of Benthic Habitat Mapping and Acoustic Seabed Classification, and of their use of MBES data products. Then, a case study is presented that compare the data products from a Kongsberg EM3000 MBES to the output map of an Acoustic Ground Discrimination Software based on data from a Single-beam Echosounder and to a Sidescan Sonar mosaic, in order to illustrate how map comparison measures could contribute to the comparison of these systems. Next, a number of measures for map-to-map comparison, inspired from the literature in land remote sensing, are presented, along with methodologies for their implementation in comparison of maps described with different legends. The benefit of these measures and methodologies is demonstrated through their application to maps obtained from the acoustic datasets presented previously. Finally, a more typical implementation of these measures is presented as a case study in which the development of two up-to-date classification methodologies of MBES backscatter data is complemented by the quantitative comparison of their output maps. In the process of developing and illustrating the use of methods for the assessment of map-to-map similarity, this thesis also presents methodologies for the processing and classification of backscatter data from MBES. In particular, the potential of the combined use of the spatial and angular information of these data for seabed classification is explored through the development of an original segmentation methodology that sequentially divides and aggregates segments defined from a MBES backscatter mosaic on the basis of their angular response content
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