Methods, apparatus, and computer program products for analyzing, monitoring, and/or modeling the manufacture of a type of part by a manufacturing process. Non-destructive evaluation data and/or quality related data collected from manufactured parts of the type of part may be aligned to a simulated model associated with the type of part. Based on the aligned data, the manufacturing process may be monitored to determine whether the manufacturing process is operating properly; aspects of the manufacturing process may be spatially correlated to the aligned data; and/or the manufacturing process may be analyzed.

A method for detecting defects in manufactured items. The method may include obtaining an image of an evaluated manufactured item; finding one or more sets of comparable patches. The finding is based on a similarity mapping that is generated based on inter-reference image similarities between patches of reference images; comparing comparable patches of each set to each other to provide one or more set comparison results; and determining an evaluated manufactured item parameter based on at least some of the one or more set comparison results.

A data collection and processing system and associated method for collocating sensed data of one or more three-dimensional objects are provided. Functions provided by the system and method include: autonomously collocating, with a processor, a first data set resulting in a first collocated data set, which may correspond with one or more first three-dimensional working models of the one or more three-dimensional objects, respectively; and autonomously interpreting, by a processor, the first collocated data set, by comparison to one or more pre-fabricated three-dimensional models, to determine an identity of the one or more three-dimensional objects associated with the one or more first three-dimensional working models or to determine the state and/or operating conditions of three-dimensional objects.