Unwrapping method for interferometric images

To analyze SAR interferometric data, an unwrapping process must be first performed. Most so far proposed solutions use either local or global methods. In this paper we propose a mixed method to solve this problem, based on a 3-step iterative process: a local unwrapping is first performed and then improved through a Markovian segmentation, false unwrapped residues are finally detected and corrected. A deterministic algorithm is used for the relaxation process; wrong unwrapped areas are corrected by a backtracking mechanism. Some results obtained by this approach, which presents a lower computational cost compared to complex stochastic unwrapping methods, are also presented.