Image Processing-Based Mine Detection Techniques: A Review

Various mine detection techniques are reviewed with particular emphasis on signal and image processing methods. Based on the target, mines are classified into two types; anti-tank mine (ATM) and anti-personnel mine (APM). Because of the variety of mine types, current mine detection techniques are diversified. The assumption is made that most mine detection techniques consist of sensor, signal processing, and decision processes. For the sensor part, ground penetration radar (GPR), infrared (IR), and ultrasound (US) sensors are reviewed and their characteristics are summarized for the corresponding output signals. For the signal processing and decision parts, a set of image processing techniques including filtering, enhancement, feature extraction, and segmentation are surveyed. Segmentation is used to extract mine signal from various competing signals. For most image processing techniques covered by this paper, mine detection related experimental results are included or reproduced from existing works.