Identification and recognition of landmine internal structure scattering contribution from GPR data

The aim of the study was to quantify the potential increase in the information level produced by an increase in the data dimensionality, i.e. from analysing a 1D signature to the investigation of a 3D GPR volume. The experimental campaign was carried out employing two different neutralised landmines, characterised by a different internal structure and buried in controlled conditions. Obviously, the acquisition of a single monodimensional signature of the target has the advantage of being almost effortless, but shows significant limitations in achieving adequate performance, in particular for landmines showing an irregular internal structure. This is a consequence of the impossibility of effectively separating the different scattering contribution. As well, despite producing a clearer and more intuitive image of the target, a single 2D profile is not able to provide reliable performance, hence there is little benefit in acquiring a 2D profile as it still suffers from not producing unambiguous results. The analysis of a 3D volume, instead, allows for an accurate delineation of the internal structure of the target, providing a reliable solution to the complex target design critical issue.