尺度缩小合成孔径激光成像雷达的孔径合成实验

设计了一种尺度缩小的合成孔径激光成像雷达(SAIL),在实验室平台上模拟实施远场传输条件,相应地解决了波前测量和外差质量监视技术,实现了一个目标点的方位向孔径合成实验,实验结果与理论预测相近。

合成孔径雷达提取海面风、浪信息研究

传统海洋测量方法例如岸基观测站、船只和浮标等方式只能对海面进行单点观测，存在很多不足之处：观测点少，只能获得有限的点的资料，无法得到大范围的海面信息；费用较高，无法大范围的密集观测；传统方法受天气影响较大，无法长时间的连续观测；星载合成孔径雷达能全天候、全天时、高分辨率对海面成像，能实现多波段、多极化、多视角得观测海面，提供大范围、高精度的实时动态海面信息。同时，这种全天候、全天时和高分辨率观测海洋的优势是可见光和红外传感器所没有的。总之研究如何从SAR影像中有效地获取海面信息具有重要的科学和实用意义。 自从1978年Seasat卫星发射以来SAR图像就广泛的应用于海洋要素的反演如海面风场、波高、平均周期。其中对海面风场的反演研究的最多，一般的方法是首先对SAR图像进行快速傅立叶变换得到SAR图像谱，通过图像谱的峰值信息能够得到具有180°模糊的风向，利用SAR图像的条纹或者浮标等外部信息来消除180°模糊确定风向，其次把风向和图像的正交后向散射截面数值(NRCS)带入经验函数CMOD4通过迭代计算得到风速。这种方法得到的海面风场需要外部信息的辅助，不利于大范围的业务化的反演海面风场。因此本文试图直接通过SAR图像来反演海面风场而不利用其他外部信息的帮助。2002年3月1日发射的ENVISAT卫星所获得的ASAR图像具有不同于ERS系列的SAR图像的新特点：不同入射角的情况下获得ASAR图片、双极化数据以及可以获得更宽的带幅的图像。双极化数据可以同时地提供同极化和交错极化的影像，两种极化的数据能够增加分辨目标的能力和提供目标更多的信息，这方面的优势也使得利用双极化的数据来消除SAR图像反演风场中的180º模糊问题提供了可能。本文推导了利用双极化的ASAR图像反演海面风场的新函数，该函数是在同极化和交错极化函数的基础上推导出来的，有效的消除了只用一副ASAR图片反演风场所固有的180º模糊现象。风速和风向的反演结果与Quikscat数据之间的均方根误差分别为0.53 m/s和2.21º。该方法与传统方法的比较可以看出新方法与浮标数据以及Quikscat数据符合的更好。 利用SAR图像来反演海浪的波高也是一个研究的比较多的领域。比较传统的方法是由SAR图像得到的海浪谱计算出波高，目前国际上比较流行的SAR图像反演海浪谱的模式有两种：一种是Hasselmann（1991）提出的在Max－Planck Institute（MPI）发展起来的方法，Hasselmann（1996）进行了改进和完善。另一种是Mastenbroek和de Valk（2000）提出的半参数化反演方法。这两种方法的最主要的缺点就是需要引进外部信息(WAM模式结果或者散射计的风的信息)来消除图像所固有的180°方向模糊问题。而本文应用的经验函数方法(CWAVE)不需要引进任何外部信息而直接得到海浪的重要参数－有效波高(Hs)，输入该经验函数的参数主要有：波模式图像的雷达截面、图像方差以及由SAR谱得到的20个参数。这些参数的选择是通过逐步回归方法进行筛选的。CWAVE经验函数的系数是通过6000幅全球分布的ERS-2波模式的图像谱拟合同时同地点的WAM模式结果得到的。利用CWAVE经验函数反演了1998年9月到2000年11月两年多的全球接近一百万的ERS-2 SAR图像的有效波高，利用NOAA浮标数据对反演结果进行了验证，他们之间的相关系数为0.83, 均方根误差为0.61m，偏差为0.02 m；反演结果也与欧洲中长期预报中心(ECMWF)的ERA-40有效波高资料和高度计资料进行了比较，结果表明该方法是通过SAR图像反演Hs的一种有效方法。 SAR的反演结果也应用于有效波高的非线性统计分布的研究。结合动力学和随机统计学原理推导了海面高度、波高和有效波高的非线性统计分布，同时利用了NOAA浮标数据、华师大的波高数据以及SAR的有效波高数据分别对推导出的非线性统计分布函数进行了检验。 SAR的结果也用来反演新的风浪成长关系： ，与已有的风浪成长关系的比较表明该成长关系与已有的结果比较一致。

Altered Long-Range Phase Synchronization and Cortical Activation in Children Born Very Preterm

Children born very preterm, even with broadly normal IQ, commonly show selective difficulties in visuospatial processing and executive functioning. Very little, however, is known what alterations in cortical processing underlie these deficits. We recorded MEG while eight children born very preterm (=32 weeks gestational age) and eight full-term controls performed a visual short-term memory task at mean age 7.5 years (range 6.4 - 8.4). Previously, we demonstrated increased long-range alpha and beta band phase synchronization between MEG sensors during STM retention in a group of 17 full-term children age 6-10 years. Here we present preliminary evidence that long-range phase synchronization in very preterm children, relative to controls, is reduced in the alpha-band but increased in the theta-band. In addition, we investigated cortical activation during STM retention employing synthetic aperture magnetometry (SAM) beamformer to localize changes in gamma-band power. Preliminary results indicate sequential activation of occipital, parietal and frontal cortex in control children, as well as reduced activation in very preterm children relative to controls. These preliminary results suggest that children born very preterm exhibit altered inter-regional functional connectivity and cortical activation during cognitive processing.

Modeling of atmospheric effects on InSAR measurements by incorporating terrain elevation information

We propose an elevation-dependent calibratory method to correct for the water vapour-induced delays over Mt. Etna that affect the interferometric syntheric aperture radar (InSAR) results. Water vapour delay fields are modelled from individual zenith delay estimates on a network of continuous GPS receivers. These are interpolated using simple kriging with varying local means over two domains, above and below 2 km in altitude. Test results with data from a meteorological station and 14 continuous GPS stations over Mt. Etna show that a reduction of the mean phase delay field of about 27% is achieved after the model is applied to a 35-day interferogram. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Robust classification of SAR imagery

In this work the G(A)(0) distribution is assumed as the universal model for amplitude Synthetic Aperture (SAR) imagery data under the Multiplicative Model. The observed data, therefore, is assumed to obey a G(A)(0) (alpha; gamma, n) law, where the parameter n is related to the speckle noise, and (alpha, gamma) are related to the ground truth, giving information about the background. Therefore, maps generated by the estimation of (alpha, gamma) in each coordinate can be used as the input for classification methods. Maximum likelihood estimators are derived and used to form estimated parameter maps. This estimation can be hampered by the presence of corner reflectors, man-made objects used to calibrate SAR images that produce large return values. In order to alleviate this contamination, robust (M) estimators are also derived for the universal model. Gaussian Maximum Likelihood classification is used to obtain maps using hard-to-deal-with simulated data, and the superiority of robust estimation is quantitatively assessed.

Damage Characterization Using Guided-Wave Linear Arrays and Image Compounding Techniques

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Technique to combine images produced by different propagation modes of guided waves for damage detection and contrast improvement in plate-like structures

This paper describes an image compounding technique based on the use of different apodization functions, the evaluation of the signals phases and information from the interaction of different propagation modes of Lamb waves with defects for enhanced damage detection, resolution and contrast. A 16 elements linear array is attached to a 1 mm thickness isotropic aluminum plate with artificial defects. The array can excite the fundamental A0 and S0 modes at the frequencies of 100 kHz and 360 kHz, respectively. For each mode two synthetic aperture (SA) images with uniform and Blackman apodization and one image of Coherence Factor Map (CFM) are obtained. The specific interaction between each propagation mode and the defects and the characteristics of acoustic radiation patterns due to different apodization functions result in images with different resolution and contrast. From the phase information one of the SA images is selected at each pixel to compound the final image. The SA images are multiplied by the CFM image to improve contrast and for the dispersive A0 mode it is used a technique for dispersion compensation. There is a contrast improvement of 47.5 dB, reducing the dead zone and improving resolution and damage detection. © 2012 IEEE.

Sparse arrays and image compounding techniques for non-destructive testing using guided acoustic waves

Piezoelectric array transducers applications are becoming usual in the ultrasonic non-destructive testing area. However, the number of elements can increase the system complexity, due to the necessity of multichannel circuitry and to the large amount of data to be processed. Synthetic aperture techniques, where one or few transmission and reception channels are necessary, and the data are post-processed, can be used to reduce the system complexity. Another possibility is to use sparse arrays instead of a full-populated array. In sparse arrays, there is a smaller number of elements and the interelement spacing is larger than half wavelength. In this work, results of ultrasonic inspection of an aluminum plate with artificial defects using guided acoustic waves and sparse arrays are presented. Synthetic aperture techniques are used to obtain a set of images that are then processed with an image compounding technique, which was previously evaluated only with full-populated arrays, in order to increase the resolution and contrast of the images. The results with sparse arrays are equivalent to the ones obtained with full-populated arrays in terms of resolution. Although there is an 8 dB contrast reduction when using sparse arrays, defect detection is preserved and there is the advantage of a reduction in the number of transducer elements and data volume. © 2013 Brazilian Society for Automatics - SBA.

Ultrasonic non-destructive testing of plate-like structures using piezoelectric array transducers

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Inspeção de materiais compósitos utilizando ondas acústicas guiadas

Pós-graduação em Engenharia Elétrica - FEIS

Hand-held 3D light field photography and applications

We propose a method to acquire 3D light fields using a hand-held camera, and describe several computational photography applications facilitated by our approach. As our input we take an image sequence from a camera translating along an approximately linear path with limited camera rotations. Users can acquire such data easily in a few seconds by moving a hand-held camera. We include a novel approach to resample the input into regularly sampled 3D light fields by aligning them in the spatio-temporal domain, and a technique for high-quality disparity estimation from light fields. We show applications including digital refocusing and synthetic aperture blur, foreground removal, selective colorization, and others.

Computational Tools for Stereo and Light Field Photography

This thesis covers a broad part of the field of computational photography, including video stabilization and image warping techniques, introductions to light field photography and the conversion of monocular images and videos into stereoscopic 3D content. We present a user assisted technique for stereoscopic 3D conversion from 2D images. Our approach exploits the geometric structure of perspective images including vanishing points. We allow a user to indicate lines, planes, and vanishing points in the input image, and directly employ these as guides of an image warp that produces a stereo image pair. Our method is most suitable for scenes with large scale structures such as buildings and is able to skip the step of constructing a depth map. Further, we propose a method to acquire 3D light fields using a hand-held camera, and describe several computational photography applications facilitated by our approach. As the input we take an image sequence from a camera translating along an approximately linear path with limited camera rotations. Users can acquire such data easily in a few seconds by moving a hand-held camera. We convert the input into a regularly sampled 3D light field by resampling and aligning them in the spatio-temporal domain. We also present a novel technique for high-quality disparity estimation from light fields. Finally, we show applications including digital refocusing and synthetic aperture blur, foreground removal, selective colorization, and others.

The role of oscillatory brain activity in object processing and figure-ground segmentation in human vision

The perception of an object as a single entity within a visual scene requires that its features are bound together and segregated from the background and/or other objects. Here, we used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to assess the hypothesis that coherent percepts may arise from the synchronized high frequency (gamma) activity between neurons that code features of the same object. We also assessed the role of low frequency (alpha, beta) activity in object processing. The target stimulus (i.e. object) was a small patch of a concentric grating of 3c/°, viewed eccentrically. The background stimulus was either a blank field or a concentric grating of 3c/° periodicity, viewed centrally. With patterned backgrounds, the target stimulus emerged--through rotation about its own centre--as a circular subsection of the background. Data were acquired using a 275-channel whole-head MEG system and analyzed using Synthetic Aperture Magnetometry (SAM), which allows one to generate images of task-related cortical oscillatory power changes within specific frequency bands. Significant oscillatory activity across a broad range of frequencies was evident at the V1/V2 border, and subsequent analyses were based on a virtual electrode at this location. When the target was presented in isolation, we observed that: (i) contralateral stimulation yielded a sustained power increase in gamma activity; and (ii) both contra- and ipsilateral stimulation yielded near identical transient power changes in alpha (and beta) activity. When the target was presented against a patterned background, we observed that: (i) contralateral stimulation yielded an increase in high-gamma (>55 Hz) power together with a decrease in low-gamma (40-55 Hz) power; and (ii) both contra- and ipsilateral stimulation yielded a transient decrease in alpha (and beta) activity, though the reduction tended to be greatest for contralateral stimulation. The opposing power changes across different regions of the gamma spectrum with 'figure/ground' stimulation suggest a possible dual role for gamma rhythms in visual object coding, and provide general support of the binding-by-synchronization hypothesis. As the power changes in alpha and beta activity were largely independent of the spatial location of the target, however, we conclude that their role in object processing may relate principally to changes in visual attention.

Cortical oscillatory activity associated with the perception of illusory and real visual contours

We used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to examine the nature of oscillatory brain rhythms when passively viewing both illusory and real visual contours. Three stimuli were employed: a Kanizsa triangle; a Kanizsa triangle with a real triangular contour superimposed; and a control figure in which the corner elements used to form the Kanizsa triangle were rotated to negate the formation of illusory contours. The MEG data were analysed using synthetic aperture magnetometry (SAM) to enable the spatial localisation of task-related oscillatory power changes within specific frequency bands, and the time-course of activity within given locations-of-interest was determined by calculating time-frequency plots using a Morlet wavelet transform. In contrast to earlier studies, we did not find increases in gamma activity (> 30 Hz) to illusory shapes, but instead a decrease in 10–30 Hz activity approximately 200 ms after stimulus presentation. The reduction in oscillatory activity was primarily evident within extrastriate areas, including the lateral occipital complex (LOC). Importantly, this same pattern of results was evident for each stimulus type. Our results further highlight the importance of the LOC and a network of posterior brain regions in processing visual contours, be they illusory or real in nature. The similarity of the results for both real and illusory contours, however, leads us to conclude that the broadband (< 30 Hz) decrease in power we observed is more likely to reflect general changes in visual attention than neural computations specific to processing visual contours.