Slice-Connection Clustering Algorithm for Tree Roots Recognition in Noisy 3D GPR Data

3D mapping of tree roots is a popular ground-penetrating radar (GPR) application. In real field tests, the recognition of tree roots suffers due to noisey reflection patterns from subsurface targets that are not of interest, such as rocks, cavities, soil unevenness, etc. A Slice-Connection Clustering Algorithm (SCC) is applied to separate the regions of interest from each other in a reconstructed 3D image. The proposed method can successfully recognize the radar signatures of the roots and distinguish roots from other objects. Meanwhile, most noise radar features are ignored through our method. The final 3D mapping of the radargram obtained by the method can be used to estimate the location and extension trend of the tree roots. The effectiveness of the proposed system is tested on real GPR data.