Phase unwrapping by minimizing Kikuchi free energy

Phase unwrapping in 2-dimensional topologies is an important problem that has several applications in radar and satellite imaging. The s um product algorithm (belief propagation) gives excellent results for the phase unwrapping problem. In this work, we present a gradient smoothing technique that uses higher order surface models to produce very smooth surfaces and report an improvement in the solution obtained. In a recent important work, Yedidia et. al have showed the theoretical connections between belief propagation algorithms and free energy in statistical physics. Based on this, we present a model that uses the Kikuchi technique to compute better posterior marginals than those produced by sum product algorithm.