GPRBase: A Free Library of Real-World Ground Penetrating Radar Datasets for Education, Training and Research

Abstract

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is a routine tool in civil engineering, utility detection, geotechnics, archaeology and the geosciences. Its theory can be taught from a textbook; interpretation cannot. Interpretation is learned by working through many real radargrams, and suitable field data are rarely available to instructors. This white paper presents GPRBase (www.gprbase.com), a free library of real-world GPR datasets developed and maintained by MDS – Le Matériel de Sondage, France.The datasets are raw field acquisitions recorded with GSSI equipment, covering reinforced concrete, buried utilities, geotechnical investigation, pavements and other applications, released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. At the time of publication GPRBase provides 17 datasets, with a short-term objective of exceeding 100, partly through contributions from universities and practitioners. The paper sets out the educational problem the repository addresses, describes its content and structure, proposes six teaching exercises built on the datasets currently online, and outlines possible uses in signal processing and machine learning. Limitations and planned improvements are stated openly.