Faint Echo Extraction from ALB Waveforms Using a Point Cloud Semantic Segmentation Model

As an active remote sensing technology, airborne LIDAR can work at all times while emitting specific wavelengths of laser light that can penetrate seawater. Airborne LIDAR bathymetry (ALB) records an object’s full return waveform, including the water surface, water column, seafloor, and the objects...

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Main Authors: Yifan Huang, Yan He, Xiaolei Zhu, Jiayong Yu, Yongqiang Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-04-01
Series:Remote Sensing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/9/2326
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author Yifan Huang
Yan He
Xiaolei Zhu
Jiayong Yu
Yongqiang Chen
author_facet Yifan Huang
Yan He
Xiaolei Zhu
Jiayong Yu
Yongqiang Chen
author_sort Yifan Huang
collection DOAJ
description As an active remote sensing technology, airborne LIDAR can work at all times while emitting specific wavelengths of laser light that can penetrate seawater. Airborne LIDAR bathymetry (ALB) records an object’s full return waveform, including the water surface, water column, seafloor, and the objects on it. Due to the seawater’s absorption and scattering and the seafloor’s reflectivity effect, the seafloor’s amplitude of seafloor echoes varies greatly. Seafloor echoes with low signal-to-noise ratios are not easily detected using waveform processing methods, which can lead to insufficient seafloor topography depth and incomplete seafloor topography coverage. To extract faint seafloor echoes, we proposed a depth extraction method based on the PointConv deep learning model, called FWConv. The method assumed that spatially adjacent echoes were correlated. We converted all the spatially adjacent multi-frame waveforms into a point cloud. Each point represented a bin value in the waveform, and the points’ properties contained spatial coordinates and the amplitude in the waveform. In the semantic segmentation of these point clouds using deep learning models, we considered not only each centroid’s amplitude, but also its neighboring points’ distance and amplitude. This enriched the centroids’ features and allowed the model to better discriminate between background noise and seafloor echoes. The results showed that FWConv could extract faint seafloor echoes in the experimental area and was not easily affected by noise, and that the correctness reached 99.82%. The number of point clouds increased by 158%, and the seafloor elevation accuracy reached 0.20 m concerning the multibeam echo sounder data.
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spelling doaj.art-22ca2c88a9d74d6489db6afa7af7d58b2023-11-17T23:38:35ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922023-04-01159232610.3390/rs15092326Faint Echo Extraction from ALB Waveforms Using a Point Cloud Semantic Segmentation ModelYifan Huang0Yan He1Xiaolei Zhu2Jiayong Yu3Yongqiang Chen4Key Laboratory of Space Laser Communication and Detection Technology, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, ChinaKey Laboratory of Space Laser Communication and Detection Technology, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, ChinaKey Laboratory of Space Laser Communication and Detection Technology, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, ChinaSchool of Civil Engineering, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei 230601, ChinaKey Laboratory of Space Laser Communication and Detection Technology, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, ChinaAs an active remote sensing technology, airborne LIDAR can work at all times while emitting specific wavelengths of laser light that can penetrate seawater. Airborne LIDAR bathymetry (ALB) records an object’s full return waveform, including the water surface, water column, seafloor, and the objects on it. Due to the seawater’s absorption and scattering and the seafloor’s reflectivity effect, the seafloor’s amplitude of seafloor echoes varies greatly. Seafloor echoes with low signal-to-noise ratios are not easily detected using waveform processing methods, which can lead to insufficient seafloor topography depth and incomplete seafloor topography coverage. To extract faint seafloor echoes, we proposed a depth extraction method based on the PointConv deep learning model, called FWConv. The method assumed that spatially adjacent echoes were correlated. We converted all the spatially adjacent multi-frame waveforms into a point cloud. Each point represented a bin value in the waveform, and the points’ properties contained spatial coordinates and the amplitude in the waveform. In the semantic segmentation of these point clouds using deep learning models, we considered not only each centroid’s amplitude, but also its neighboring points’ distance and amplitude. This enriched the centroids’ features and allowed the model to better discriminate between background noise and seafloor echoes. The results showed that FWConv could extract faint seafloor echoes in the experimental area and was not easily affected by noise, and that the correctness reached 99.82%. The number of point clouds increased by 158%, and the seafloor elevation accuracy reached 0.20 m concerning the multibeam echo sounder data.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/9/2326LiDARbathymetrydeep learningpoint cloud semantic segmentation
spellingShingle Yifan Huang
Yan He
Xiaolei Zhu
Jiayong Yu
Yongqiang Chen
Faint Echo Extraction from ALB Waveforms Using a Point Cloud Semantic Segmentation Model
Remote Sensing
LiDAR
bathymetry
deep learning
point cloud semantic segmentation
title Faint Echo Extraction from ALB Waveforms Using a Point Cloud Semantic Segmentation Model
title_full Faint Echo Extraction from ALB Waveforms Using a Point Cloud Semantic Segmentation Model
title_fullStr Faint Echo Extraction from ALB Waveforms Using a Point Cloud Semantic Segmentation Model
title_full_unstemmed Faint Echo Extraction from ALB Waveforms Using a Point Cloud Semantic Segmentation Model
title_short Faint Echo Extraction from ALB Waveforms Using a Point Cloud Semantic Segmentation Model
title_sort faint echo extraction from alb waveforms using a point cloud semantic segmentation model
topic LiDAR
bathymetry
deep learning
point cloud semantic segmentation
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/9/2326
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AT yanhe faintechoextractionfromalbwaveformsusingapointcloudsemanticsegmentationmodel
AT xiaoleizhu faintechoextractionfromalbwaveformsusingapointcloudsemanticsegmentationmodel
AT jiayongyu faintechoextractionfromalbwaveformsusingapointcloudsemanticsegmentationmodel
AT yongqiangchen faintechoextractionfromalbwaveformsusingapointcloudsemanticsegmentationmodel