IDEA #67W81M Method and apparatus for automatic GPR data collection and GPR imaging using robot random walk

The purpose of the invention is to develop a robotic inspection apparatus carrying a ground penetrating radar (GPR) and a RGB-D tracking camera to automatically collect image and GPR data, and implement vision-based high accurate positioning and 3D GPR imaging software to detect and visualize subsurface objects. The apparatus provides a robotic solution to automatically collect GPR data for nondestructive testing (NDT) of infrastructure, as well as the method that synchronize the robot control and vision-based accurate positioning with GPR sampling, that enable the GPR data analysis software to interpret vision and GPR data, detect and locate surface flaws and subsurface defects, and precisely register them on 3D map for better visualization.