It is necessary to detect the target reflections in ground penetrating radar (GPR) images, so that surface metal targets can be identified successfully. In order to accurately locate buried metal objects, a novel method called the Multiresolution Monogenic Signal Analysis (MMSA) system is applied in ground penetrating radar (GPR) images. This process includes four steps. First the image is decomposed by the MMSA to extract the amplitude component of the B-scan image. The amplitude component enhances the target reflection and suppresses the direct wave and reflective wave to a large extent. Then we use the region of interest extraction method to locate the genuine target reflections from spurious reflections by calculating the normalized variance of the amplitude component. To find the apexes of the targets, a Hough transform is used in the restricted area. Finally, we estimate the horizontal and vertical position of the target. In terms of buried object detection, the proposed system exhibits promising performance, as shown in the experimental results.
Keywords: GPR; Hough transform; amplitude component; multiresolution monogenic signal analysis; reflection hyperbola.