Swarm-based algorithm for phase unwrapping

A novel algorithm for phase unwrapping based on swarm intelligence is proposed. The algorithm was designed based on three main goals: maximum coverage of reliable information, focused effort for better efficiency, and reliable unwrapping. Experiments were performed, and a new agent was designed to follow a simple set of five rules in order to collectively achieve these goals. These rules consist of random walking for unwrapping and searching, ambiguity evaluation by comparing unwrapped regions, and a replication behavior responsible for the good distribution of agents throughout the image. The results were comparable with the results from established methods. The swarm-based algorithm was able to suppress ambiguities better than the flood-fill algorithm without relying on lengthy processing times. In addition, future developments such as parallel processing and better-quality evaluation present great potential for the proposed method.