Theory and implementation of NDT data fusion

Abstract Scientific measurements from single or multiple sensors are usually incomplete and uncertain. A process making use of the concept of data fusion has been developed to try to encompass this problem by combining information from multiple sensors. The objective to synergistic use of information from multiple sources is to reduce uncertainty and increase the confidence level of a measurand. The implementation of data fusion to the field of NDT is relatively new. This paper summarizes the achievements of current research on data fusion applied to NDT. A theoretical data fusion strategy is described and experimental results generated from weld inspection are presented.