Real-time fully focused imaging with parameter estimation for in-process inspection and manufacturing control

Tools

Macleod, James and Nicolson, Ewan and Lines, Dave and Dobie, Gordon and MacLeod, Charles; (2025) Real-time fully focused imaging with parameter estimation for in-process inspection and manufacturing control. In: 2025 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS). 2025 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS) . IEEE, NLD, pp. 1-4. ISBN 979-8-3315-2332-9 (https://doi.org/10.1109/ius62464.2025.11201648)

[thumbnail of Macleod-etal-2025-Real-time-fully-focused-imaging-with-parameter-estimation]
Preview
 Text. Filename: Macleod-etal-2025-Real-time-fully-focused-imaging-with-parameter-estimation.pdf
Accepted Author Manuscript
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 logo
Download (1MB)| Preview

Abstract

Productivity, schedule, and environment sustainability considerations are driving research and development into in-process inspection and control during fusion welding applications. Ultrasonic inspection using the Total Focusing Method (TFM) has been shown to provide high quality imaging and adaptability to complex scenarios, making it a promising choice for these applications. However, its high computation requirements have thus far limited its use in inprocess inspection and weld control due to tight temporal requirements. Furthermore, in scenarios in which inspection geometry varies over time, as found during in-process weld inspection, focal law computation for each image adds additional delay.This work presents a novel GPU-Accelerated real-time approach for both estimating inspection setup parameters and focal law computation for fully focused imaging. This operates on the same Full Matrix Capture data required for TFM imaging, adding no acquisition latency. The implementation developed is capable of computation rates exceeding the capture rate of FMC, allowing it to operate within the temporal cycle window of welding control and in-process inspection applications.

ORCID iDs

Macleod, James ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5344-599X, Nicolson, Ewan ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8174-1665, Lines, Dave, Dobie, Gordon ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3972-5917 and MacLeod, Charles ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4364-9769;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)