Detection of linear and planar structures in 3D subsurface images by iterative dimension reduction

A unified framework for detecting both linear and planar structures in three-dimensional (3D) images is developed. The method uses an iterative detection and removal strategy. The dimension reduction scheme reduces the search space for lines by first finding 2D planes and then searching for lines in the selected planes only. Thus the computational time of the method is lower than the 3D Hough Transform (HT) for lines. The proposed method is tested using experimental Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) data taken over buried pipes, however the method is general enough to be applied to any situation where linear or planar structures need to be identified in 3D data.