3D acoustical image analysis and feature extraction

16.3 Conclusions

The complete set of tools developed for 3D image processing proposed in Chapter 6 was tested on different sets of acoustic images. In particular, the availability of a simulator allowed us to carry out extensive tests on a large set of 3D images showing several objects (also complex in geometry) with different poses and viewpoints. Concerning the segmentation task, it was possible to evaluate algorithm performance by considering the degree of over- and under-segmentation of the results. The reconstructed models were compared with those expected, taking into account the spatial resolution of the sonar considered in the specific simulation.

To further assess the robustness of the developed methods, data from two different- scaled tank experiments were analysed. In both cases the results were satisfactory and showed the flexibility of the processing tool which, in different configurations of sonar systems and underwater scenes, was able to provide object reconstructions useful for a better understanding of the targets.