用于可靠性导向相位展开的快速算法

在目前的可靠度导向相位展开算法中,排序操作非常费时。为此提出了一种采用查找表的可靠度导向相位展开快速算法。将可靠度值以一定等级量化从而建立一张查找表。在相位展开过程中,通过查表将相位待展开的点放到一个虚拟队列(等同于洪水算法中的有序队列)中,再进行相位展开。由于采用查表代替了排序操作,相位展开速度获得了极大的提高。实验表明:查表法的速度通常比洪水算法(典型的可靠度导向相位展开算法)快20多倍,而相位展开成功率与洪水算法相差无几。尤其在可靠度分布比较分散情况下,查表法比洪水算法快100多倍。     

Three-dimensional noise-immune phase unwrapping algorithm

The classical problem of phase unwrapping in two dimensions, that of how to create a path-independent unwrapped map, is extended to the case of a three-dimensional phase distribution. Whereas in two dimensions the path dependence problem arises from isolated phase singularity points, in three dimensions the phase singularities are shown to form closed loops in space. A closed path that links one such loop will cross a nonzero number of phase discontinuities. In two dimensions, path independence is achieved when branch-cut lines are placed between singular points of opposite sign; an equivalent path-independent algorithm for three dimensions is developed that places branch-cut surfaces so as to prevent unwrapping through the phase singularity loops. The placing of the cuts is determined uniquely by the phase data, which contrasts with the two-dimensional case for which there are many possible ways in which to pair up the singular points. The performance of the new algorithm is demonstrated on three-dimensional phase data from a high-speed phase-shifting speckle pattern interferometer.     

Image-inpainting and quality-guided phase unwrapping algorithm

For the wrapped phase map with regional abnormal fringes, a new phase unwrapping algorithm that combines the image-inpainting theory and the quality-guided phase unwrapping algorithm is proposed. First, by applying a threshold to the modulation map, the valid region (i.e., the interference region) is divided into the doubtful region (called the target region during the inpainting period) and the reasonable one (the source region). The wrapped phase of the doubtful region is thought to be unreliable, and the data are abandoned temporarily. Using the region-filling image-inpainting method, the blank target region is filled with new data, while nothing is changed in the source region. A new wrapped phase map is generated, and then it is unwrapped with the quality-guided phase unwrapping algorithm. Finally, a postprocessing operation is proposed for the final result. Experimental results have shown that the performance of the proposed algorithm is effective.     

Robust, simple, and fast algorithm for phase unwrapping

Phase unwrapping has been and still is a cumbersome concern that involves the resolution of several different problems. When dealing with two-dimensional phase unwrapping in fringe analysis, the final objective is, in many cases, the realization of that analysis in real time. Many algorithms have been developed to carry out the unwrapping process, with some giving satisfactory results even when high levels of noise are present in the image. However, these algorithms are often time consuming and far removed from the goal of real-time fringe analysis. A new approach to the construction of a simple and fast algorithm for two-dimensional unwrapping that has considerable potential for parallel implementation is presented.     

Multilevel quality-guided phase unwrapping algorithm for real-time three-dimensional shape reconstruction

A multilevel quality-guided phase unwrapping algorithm for real-time 3D shape measurement is presented. The quality map is generated from the gradient of the phase map. Multilevel thresholds are used to unwrap the phase level by level. Within the data points in each level, a fast scan-line algorithm is employed. The processing time of this algorithm is approximately 18.3 ms for an image size of 640x480 pixels in an ordinary computer. We demonstrate that this algorithm can be implemented into our real-time 3D shape measurement system for real-time 3D reconstruction. Experiments show that this algorithm improves the previous scan-line phase unwrapping algorithm significantly although it reduces its processing speed slightly.     

一种新的质量图导引路径积分相位展开算法

本文首先简要介绍了路径积分相位展开方法的原理,针对路径积分法在处理轮廓不连续包裹相位图时存在的缺陷,提出了一种新的质量图用来导引相位展开。算法以包裹相位质量为依据,最先展开质量最高的像素,最后展开质量最低的像素,以防止相位展开误差的传播,把不可避免的相位展开误差局限在最小的区域内。实验结果表明,该算法计算速度快,能有效地处理轮廓不连续相位展开问题。     

Quality-guided phase unwrapping algorithm based on reliability evaluation

For optical interferometry, a new quality-guided phase unwrapping algorithm based on the reliability evaluation of each pixel of the wrapped phase is proposed. First, the parameters used as quality measures in the past quality-guided algorithms are classified into the reliability measure and the quality measure, and the intensity of the object image belongs to the reliability measure. Then, by computing and applying a threshold to the intensity of the object image, the valid region (i.e., the interference region) is distinguished into the reliable region and the doubtful region. The wrapped phase in the reliable region is subsequently unwrapped by the way of multipaths integration, and different paths are guided by separate quality measures. Finally, starting from the reliable region, the doubtful region is unwrapped by the way that each path takes in the reliable region. Experimental results have shown that the proposed algorithm not only performs well, but also computes efficiently.     

Two-dimensional phase unwrapping with a multichannel least-mean-square algorithm

This paper presents a computationally efficient two-dimensional phase-unwrapping method based on a multichannel least-mean-square algorithm. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated by applying phase unwrapping to several simulated very noisy images and to a genuine noisy interferometrical image taken from a five-step phase-shift interferogram obtained from a surface plasmon resonance imaging biosensing experiment. The results confirm that the proposed method is more widely applicable, more computationally efficient, and more robust in the presence of noise than the representative methods presented in this paper.     

Two-dimensional phase unwrapping using a hybrid genetic algorithm

A novel hybrid genetic algorithm (HGA) is proposed to solve the branch-cut phase unwrapping problem. It employs both local and global search methods. The local search is implemented by using the nearest-neighbor method, whereas the global search is performed by using the genetic algorithm. The branch-cut phase unwrapping problem [a nondeterministic polynomial (NP-hard) problem] is implemented in a similar way to the traveling-salesman problem, a very-well-known combinational optimization problem with profound research and applications. The performance of the proposed algorithm was tested on both simulated and real wrapped phase maps. The HGA is found to be robust and fast compared with three well-known branch-cut phase unwrapping algorithms.     

Threshold automatic selection hybrid phase unwrapping algorithm for digital holographic microscopy

Conventional quality-guided (QG) phase unwrapping algorithm is hard to be applied to digital holographic microscopy because of the long execution time. In this paper, we present a threshold automatic selection hybrid phase unwrapping algorithm that combines the existing QG algorithm and the flood-filled (FF) algorithm to solve this problem. The original wrapped phase map is divided into high- and low-quality sub-maps by selecting a threshold automatically, and then the FF and QG unwrapping algorithms are used in each level to unwrap the phase, respectively. The feasibility of the proposed method is proved by experimental results, and the execution speed is shown to be much faster than that of the original QG unwrapping algorithm.     

Fast and robust three-dimensional best path phase unwrapping algorithm

What we believe to be a novel three-dimensional (3D) phase unwrapping algorithm is proposed to unwrap 3D wrapped-phase volumes. It depends on a quality map to unwrap the most reliable voxels first and the least reliable voxels last. The technique follows a discrete unwrapping path to perform the unwrapping process. The performance of this technique was tested on both simulated and real wrapped-phase maps. And it is found to be robust and fast compared with other 3D phase unwrapping algorithms.     

一种并行加速改进的快速相位解包裹算法

针对Miguel等人提出的质量图引导相位解包裹算法中串行运算效率较低的缺点,构造了一种多个低可靠度区块并行合并的改进算法。在满足原始算法设计思想的前提下,对解包裹路径进行重新定义,并根据原始算法的解包裹路径非连续的特性,构建了一种低可靠度区块乱序合并的策略,使得多个低可靠度区块的合并任务可以同时进行。改进算法采用多线程软件架构,主线程负责循环遍历未处理的区块,子线程接收待处理的区块执行合并任务。实验结果表明,改进方法与原始算法的处理结果完全一致,而并行改进策略可有效利用计算机多核资源,使得相位解包裹算法的运行效率提高了50%以上。     

Mean-field annealing for phase unwrapping

Use of mean-field annealing theory is proposed for solving the phase-unwrapping (PU) problem. PU is formulated as a constrained optimization problem for the field of integer corrections to be added to the wrapped gradient field. A deterministic algorithm is described to provide an approximation of the average of the correction field over the global minima of the cost function. The proposed algorithm can be applied for any choice of the cost function. Using a cost function based on second-order differences, we obtain results close to those from simulated annealing and spend less computational time.     

Reliable phase unwrapping algorithm based on rotational and direct compensators

Phase unwrapping still plays an important role in many data-processing chains based on phase information. Here, we introduce a new phase unwrapping approach for noisy wrapped phase maps of continuous objects to improve the accuracy and computational time requirements of phase unwrapping using a rotational compensator (RC) method. The proposed algorithm is based on compensating the singularity of discontinuity sources. It uses direct compensation for adjoining singular point (SP) pairs and uses RC for other SP pairs. The performance of the proposed method is tested through both simulated and real wrapped phase data. The proposed algorithm is faster than the original algorithm with the RC and has proved efficiency compared to other phase unwrapping methods.     

New regularization scheme for phase unwrapping

A new, to our knowledge, algorithm for the phase unwrapping (PU) problem that is based on stochastic relaxation is proposed and analyzed. Unlike regularization schemes previously proposed to handle this problem, our approach dispells the following two assumptions about the solution: a Gaussian model for noise and the magnitude of the true phase-field gradient's being less than pi everywhere. We formulate PU as a constrained optimization problem for the field of integer multiples of 2pi, which must be added to the wrapped phase gradient to recover the true phase gradient. By solving the optimization problem using simulated annealing with constraints, one can obtain a consistent solution under difficult conditions resulting from noise and undersampling. Results from synthetic test images are reported.     

Spatial-fringe-modulation-based quality map for phase unwrapping

The quality-guided algorithm is a method widely used in phase unwrapping. The algorithm uses a quality map to guide its unwrapping process, and its validity depends on whether the quality map can truly reflect phase quality. In fringe projection surface profilometry, discontinuous surface structure, low surface reflectivity, and saturation of the image-recording system are sources of unreliable phase data. To facilitate the unwrapping process, we demonstrate an accurate quality map based on spatial fringe modulation, which is extracted from a single fringe pattern. Compared with temporal fringe modulation, the new criterion is more sensitive to spatial structure changes and less dependent on illumination conditions.     

Agglomerative clustering-based approach for two-dimensional phase unwrapping

We describe a novel algorithm for two-dimensional phase unwrapping. The technique combines the principles of agglomerative clustering and use of heuristics to construct a discontinuous quality-guided path. Unlike other quality-guided algorithms, which establish the path at the start of the unwrapping process, our technique constructs the path as the unwrapping process evolves. This makes the technique less prone to error propagation, although it presents higher execution times than other existing algorithms. The algorithm reacts satisfactorily to random noise and breaks in the phase distribution. A variation of the algorithm is also presented that considerably reduces the execution time without affecting the results significantly.     

Path-independent phase unwrapping of subsampled phase maps

A technique for unwrapping subsampled phase maps is presented. The subsampled phase map is obtained by standard phase-shifting methods that use subsampled interferograms. The technique then estimates the wrapped local curvature of the subsampled phase map. This local curvature is then low-pass filtered with a free-boundary low-pass filter to reduce phase noise. Finally the estimated local curvature of the wave front is integrated by the use of a least-squares technique to obtain the searched continuous wave front.     

Modulo 2pi fringe orientation angle estimation by phase unwrapping with a regularized phase tracking algorithm

The fringe orientation angle provides useful information for many fringe-pattern-processing techniques. From a single normalized fringe pattern (background suppressed and modulation normalized), the fringe orientation angle can be obtained by computing the irradiance gradient and performing a further arctangent computation. Because of the 180 degrees ambiguity of the fringe direction, the orientation angle computed from the gradient of a single fringe pattern can be determined only modulo pi. Recently, several studies have shown that a reliable determination of the fringe orientation angle modulo 2pi is a key point for a robust demodulation of the phase from a single fringe pattern. We present an algorithm for the computation of the modulo 2pi fringe orientation angle by unwrapping the orientation angle obtained from the gradient computation with a regularized phase tracking method. Simulated as well as experimental results are presented.     

Evaluation of a preconditioned conjugate-gradient algorithm for weighted least-squares unwrapping of digital speckle-pattern interferometry phase maps

Inasmuch as current fringe analysis techniques used in digital speckle-pattern interferometry (DSPI) yield a phase map modulo 2pi, phase unwrapping is the final step of any data evaluation process. The performance of a recently published algorithm used to unwrap DSPI phase maps is investigated. The algorithm is based on a least-squares minimization technique that is solvable by the discrete cosine transform. When phase inconsistencies are present, they are handled by exclusion of invalid pixels from the unwrapping process through the assignment of zero-valued weights. Then the weighted unwrapping problem is solved in an iterative manner by a preconditioned conjugate-gradient method. The evaluation is carried out with computer-simulated DSPI phase maps, an approach that permits the generation of phase fields without inconsistencies, which are then used to calculate phase deviations as a function of the iteration number. Real data are also used to illustrate the performance of the algorithm.