Real-time Automated Detection of Buried Utilities for 3D GPR Investigations

The realization of network infrastructures with lower environmental impact and the tendency to use digging technologies less invasive in terms of time and space of road occupation and restoration play a key-role in the development of communication networks: non-destructive investigation and mapping of buried services must match the improvements of new digging equipments. The development of a fully automated 3D GPR processing system allows to avoid processing steps that cannot be carried in-field, highly improving the productivity of optical network deployment by the "low impact mini-trench" technique. The computation and process of the pre-stack reflection angle gathers, built while focusing 3D GPR data, is the core issue of the proposed approach, allowing to detect ducts in real time just while acquiring GPR data, without the need of specific high performance hardware. GPR investigation can be carried on just ahead trenching equipment, as the detection results are immediately available and can be easily understood even by unskilled personnel.