The graphical user interface of the GEORADAR-EXPERT software system is a set of tabs, each of which serves for specific tasks and contains panels with controls for these tasks. Tabs are located in the main program window. At the top of this window is the standard menu bar. The user can change the aspect ratio of the tabs or hide them. GEORADAR-EXPERT provides two modes of the main program window - 2D and 3D. 2D mode is designed to work with two-dimensional data - GPR profiles and sections created by the results of an automated BSEF analysis. The 3D mode is used to visualize the three-dimensional volume of GPR data, as well as slices of this volume. The three-dimensional volume is formed from attribute sections created by the BSEF analysis of a set of GPR profiles obtained during the areal GPR surveying. The main window mode changes automatically, depending on the type of data loaded into GEORADAR-EXPERT.
The following shows the main window of the GEORADAR-EXPERT software in 2D mode. The upper group of tabs serves to visualize two-dimensional data, graphs of the spectrum of signals and statistical information. In this example, the section visualization tab is active. Nearby are inactive tabs for visualizing the GPR profile and the amplitude-frequency spectrum of the signals of this profile. To activate a tab, the user needs to click on this tab, after which the data on this tab will be available, and the data on the other tabs from this group will be hidden.
In the left part of the GEORADAR-EXPERT main window there are tabs intended for graphical presentation of the BSEF analysis results, as well as controls for creating and visualizing the section based on the results of this analysis. In the lower part of the main window there is a group of tabs intended for placing control elements for displaying the radarogram, GPR profile properties and profile processing settings. All three groups of tabs are separated by two separators - vertical and horizontal, which contain buttons for controlling the size of the tabs.
The main window of GEORADAR-EXPERT with the active tab for visualizing the GPR profile is shown below. Unlike the previous example, the ratio of the tab groups has been changed - the size of the left tab group has increased due to a decrease in the size of the upper and lower groups:
The main window of the GEORADAR-EXPERT with the active tab for
displaying the amplitude-frequency spectrum of GPR profile signals is
shown below. The sizes of the upper and lower groups of tabs are
increased by reducing the size of the left group of tabs:
The tab of the section created with the terrain correction is shown
below. The last tab is active in the left group of tabs. The area of
this tab is only partially occupied by the settings panels for creating
and visualizing the section:
The section visualization tab with terrain correction in the attribute
visibility constraint mode is shown below. In this mode, section areas
containing attribute values that go beyond the boundaries of a
user-defined range are not rendered. Hidden areas are not taken into
account in the process of statistical analysis and analysis of the
spatial distribution of attribute values. Thus, the user can exclude
part of the section from these calculations, if necessary.
To work with the results of the areal GPR surveying, the 3D mode of the main window of the GEORADAR-EXPERT software system is intended. This mode is used to visualize three-dimensional assembly of sections created on the basis of the results of BSEF automated analysis of GPR profiles of unequal length and arbitrary orientation. When forming a 3D assembly of sections, it is possible to take into account the position of GPR profiles in GPS coordinates. In 3D mode, the left group of tabs available in 2D mode is hidden. The upper group of tabs is intended for visualization of 3D volume, mutually perpendicular slices and arbitrary custom sections of 3D volume. The lower group of tabs is used to place 3D visualization controls.
The figure below shows the main window of the GEORADAR-EXPERT software system in 3D mode with the active tab for visualizing the volume of 3D assembly. The volume is divided into parts by three orthogonal slices - one horizontal and two vertical. The result is eight sub-volumes, four lie above the horizontal slice and four are located below this slice. You can resize sub-volumes by moving orthogonal slices along their respective axes. In the presented example, one upper quarter of the 3D assembly volume is cut out (made transparent):
The user can control the already existing by default 3D orthogonal
slices of the 3D assembly - change their position, average the specified
thickness of the 3D volume in all three XYZ directions and present the
result as orthogonal slices, create user sections of any shape, save
these sections to a file and load them in 3D assembly from a file. The
figure below shows the main window of GEORADAR-EXPERT with the active
tab for visualizing 3D volume containing three orthogonal slices and one
user section:
The tab below shows the development of this curved user section.
Vertical lines indicate the position of the nodal points of the curve
through which this section passes. The names of the points are located
on the upper boundary of the section. For each point, it is possible to
obtain a logging curve and a table of its values.
The user can save a series of images of orthogonal slices of 3D volume
in the computer`s hard disk in automatic mode with a specified step
along the corresponding axis. Compared to the manual mode for saving
slices, automatic mode saves time. In manual mode, you first need to
perform actions to move the slice to the desired point on the axis, and
then interact with the save dialog box. When the number of slices is
several tens, or even hundreds, the manual saving process is extended
for a long time. The figure below shows a Windows Explorer window with a
directory for saving a set of horizontal slices of 3D volume.
In 3D mode, all the necessary options for visualizing GPR information
are provided, including the ability to control the transparency of
elements included in the 3D assembly volume. This allows for greater
visibility in the presentation of the results of the GPR study. The
figure below shows an example of 3D visualization, which includes
isosurfaces and the volume of 3D assemblies with varying degrees of
transparency. In the translucent volume of the 3D assembly,
interstratified layers of rocks are visible in the form of areas of red
shades. The boundaries of soil anomalies are represented by isosurfaces
of blue color. Translucent isosurfaces do not overlap each other, and
this allows us to observe the shape of these anomalies completely.
Below is a variant of visualization of the 3D assembly volume, in which
full transparency is defined by the user-specified range of attribute
values, and the isosurface is the boundary between the transparent and
opaque regions:
If the 3D assembly contains isosurfaces, then these isosurfaces divide
the volume of the 3D assembly into parts. The user can create
isosurfaces so that they pass along the contact boundaries of the layers
of the investigated subsurface. The ability to obtain information about
the volume of these layers is of undoubted practical interest.
GEORADAR-EXPERT provides this opportunity. The figure below on the left
shows the axes of the 3D assembly from the previous example, on which
orthogonal slices and two isosurfaces are placed - one yellow, the other
purple. The values through which these isosurfaces pass are shown in
the lower left corner of the image in the rectangles of the
corresponding colors. The right-hand side of the image shows an
automatically generated table of volumes bounded by these isosurfaces.
Similarly, you can get information about layer area in square meters in 2D mode. Only in this case the layers do not limit the isosurfaces, but the lines of the boundaries of the layers.
Below is an example of a 3D assembly, which was created taking into
account the coordinates of the GPS positioning system. In a
three-dimensional view, the positions of GPR profiles and vertical
slices along these profiles are visualized. An isosurface passes through
the 3D assembly volume, showing the contact position of soils with
various electrophysical characteristics. For isosurface and 3D assembly
volume, various degrees of transparency are specified.
The graphical user interface of the GEORADAR-EXPERT software system provides the user with the ability to effectively manage the processing of GPR data and display these results as clearly as possible.