Object-based image analysis of suburban landscapes using Landsat-8 imagery

Many experiments of object-based image analysis have been conducted in remote sensing classification. However, they commonly used high-resolution imagery and rarely focused on suburban area. In this research, with the Landsat-8 imagery, classification of a suburban area via the object-based approach is achieved using four classifiers, including decision tree (DT), support vector machine (SVM), random trees (RT), and naive Bayes (NB). We performed feature selection at different sizes of segmentation scale and evaluated the effects of segmentation and tuning parameters within each classifier on classification accuracy. The results showed that the influence of shape on overall accuracy was greater than that of compactness, and a relatively low value of shape should be set with increasing scale size. For DT, the optimal maximum depth usually varied from 5 to 8. For SVM, the optimal gamma was less than or equal to 10^?2, and its optimal C was greater than or equal to 10². For RT, the optimal active variables was less than or equal to 4, and the optimal maximum tree number was greater than or equal to 30. Furthermore, although there was no statistically significant difference between some classification results produced using different classifiers, SVM has a slightly better performance.     

Classifying a high resolution image of an urban area using super-object information

In this study, a multi-scale approach was used for classifying land cover in a high resolution image of an urban area. Pixels and image segments were assigned the spectral, texture, size, and shape information of their super-objects (i.e. the segments that they are located within) from coarser segmentations of the same scene, and this set of super-object information was used as additional input data for image classification. The accuracies of classifications that included super-object variables were compared with the classification accuracies of image segmentations that did not include super-object information. The highest overall accuracy and kappa coefficient achieved without super-object information was 78.11% and 0.727%, respectively. When single pixels or fine-scale image segments were assigned the statistics of their super-objects prior to classification, overall accuracy increased to 84.42% and the kappa coefficient increased to 0.804.     

Object-based image analysis supported by data mining to discriminate large areas of soybean

This research aimed to analyze the possibility to estimate and automatically map large areas of soybean cultivation through the use of MODIS (Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) images. Two major techniques were used: GEOgraphic-Object-Based Image Analysis (GEOBIA) and Data Mining (DM). In order to obtain the images, the segmentation algorithm implemented by Definiens Developer was used. A decision tree (DT) was created from a training set previously prepared. Time-series of images from the MODIS sensor aboard the Terra satellite were acquired in order to represent the wide variation of the vegetation pattern along the soybean crop cycle. The time-series data were used only for the CEI index. Furthermore, to compare the results obtained from GEOBIA, the slicing technique was used at the CEI level. After the training, the DT was applied to the vegetation indices generating the thematic map of the spatial distribution of soybean. In accordance with the error matrix and kappa parameter analysis, tests for statistical significance were created. Results indicate that the classification achieved by Kappa coefficients is 0.76. In short, the obtained results proved that combining vegetation indices and time-series data using GEOBIA return promising results for mapping soybean plantation on a regional scale.     

基于非线性判别分析的高光谱影像特征提取

高光谱遥感影像丰富的光谱信息有利于深入挖掘目标的理化特性,精细识别不同目标间的细微差异。为了提高影像分类识别的精度与速度需要对光谱信息进行特征提取。基于核函数的判别分析能够在数据中提取非线性特征,本文将其应用到高光谱影像分类的特征提取中,并进行了最小距离分类实验取得理想结果。     

语义网络模型的遥感影像面向对象分类

针对目前遥感影像面向对象分类中分类模型构建方法的不足之处,文章提出了一种语义网络模型与混合控制策略相结合的方法:从地理空间认知角度出发,分析遥感影像多尺度语义结构,利用C4.5决策树进行特征选择与语义网络模型构建,采用自上而下以及自下而上的混合控制策略,实现了语义网络模型的验证及面向对象分类。实验结果表明,该方法能够自动进行特征优选与分类模型的自动构建,能够为地表覆盖分类提供知识型分类模型与方法,为类似区域、类似数据、相近时间的影像解译提供参考。     

Fusion of airborne laserscanning point clouds and images for supervised and unsupervised scene classification

Automatic urban object detection from airborne remote sensing data is essential to process and efficiently interpret the vast amount of airborne imagery and Laserscanning (ALS) data available today. This paper combines ALS data and airborne imagery to exploit both: the good geometric quality of ALS and the spectral image information to detect the four classes buildings, trees, vegetated ground and sealed ground. A new segmentation approach is introduced which also makes use of geometric and spectral data during classification entity definition. Geometric, textural, low level and mid level image features are assigned to laser points which are quantified into voxels. The segment information is transferred to the voxels and those clusters of voxels form the entity to be classified. Two classification strategies are pursued: a supervised method, using Random Trees and an unsupervised approach, embedded in a Markov Random Field framework and using graph-cuts for energy optimization. A further contribution of this paper concerns the image-based point densification for building roofs which aims to mitigate the accuracy problems related to large ALS point spacing.Results for the ISPRS benchmark test data show that to rely on color information to separate vegetation from non-vegetation areas does mostly lead to good results, but in particular in shadow areas a confusion between classes might occur. The unsupervised classification strategy is especially sensitive in this respect. As far as the point cloud densification is concerned, we observe similar sensitivity with respect to color which makes some planes to be missed out, or false detections still remain. For planes where the densification is successful we see the expected enhancement of the outline.     

Improving the Wishart Synthetic Aperture Radar image classifications through Deterministic Simulated Annealing

This paper proposes the use of Deterministic Simulated Annealing (DSA) for Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image classification for cluster refinement. We use the initial classification provided by the maximum-likelihood classifier based on the complex Wishart distribution that is then supplied to the DSA optimization approach. The goal is to improve the classification results obtained by the Wishart approach. The improvement is verified by computing a cluster separability coefficient. During the DSA optimization process, for each iteration and for each pixel, two consistency coefficients are computed taking into account two kinds of relations between the pixel under consideration and its neighbors. Based on these coefficients and on the information coming from the pixel itself, it is re-classified. Several experiments are carried out to verify that the proposed approach outperforms the Wishart strategy. We try to improve the classification results by considering the spatial influences received by a pixel through its neighbors. Finally, a link about the contribution of DSA to thematic mapping is also established.     

Object-based land-cover classification for metropolitan Phoenix,Arizona, using aerial photography

Detailed land-cover mapping is essential for a range of research issues addressed by the sustainability and land system sciences and planning. This study uses an object-based approach to create a 1 m land-cover classification map of the expansive Phoenix metropolitan area through the use of high spatial resolution aerial photography from National Agricultural Imagery Program. It employs an expert knowledge decision rule set and incorporates the cadastral GIS vector layer as auxiliary data. The classification rule was established on a hierarchical image object network, and the properties of parcels in the vector layer were used to establish land cover types. Image segmentations were initially utilized to separate the aerial photos into parcel sized objects, and were further used for detailed land type identification within the parcels. Characteristics of image objects from contextual and geometrical aspects were used in the decision rule set to reduce the spectral limitation of the four-band aerial photography. Classification results include 12 land-cover classes and subclasses that may be assessed from the sub-parcel to the landscape scales, facilitating examination of scale dynamics. The proposed object-based classification method provides robust results, uses minimal and readily available ancillary data, and reduces computational time.     

高光谱图像滚动引导递归滤波与地物分类

高光谱图像类内光谱变化较大,"同物异谱"现象普遍存在。利用原始地物光谱特征进行分类精度较低而且分类结果图中存在"椒盐现象"。为了获得好的分类结果,必须充分利用高光谱图像的光谱信息和空间信息,减少类内的光谱变化,并扩大类别间的光谱差异。为此,提出一种滚动引导递归滤波的高光谱图像光谱—空间分类方法。首先,利用主成分分析对高光谱图像进行降维;然后,利用高斯滤波对输入图像进行模糊化,消除图像中的噪声和小尺度结构;接下来,将模糊化后的图像作为引导图像,对输入图像进行边缘保持递归滤波,输出结果作为新的引导图像,重复迭代这个过程直至大尺度边缘被恢复;最后,利用提取的特征波段和支持向量机对高光谱图像进行分类。在两个真实高光谱数据集上进行了分类实验,结果表明本文方法的分类精度优于其他的高光谱图像分类方法。在训练样本极少的情况下,本文方法也能获得较高的分类精度。     

基于面向对象的高分遥感景观格局提取方法

为了实现对景观连续变化特征与连接特征的描述,并保持与斑块镶嵌特征的空间尺度一致性,该文利用高分辨率遥感数据,采用面向对象分割方法,建立基于Delaunay-Voronoi原理的景观格局定量描述模型,统一表达景观格局的镶嵌、连续以及连接特征;并将此图像分割方法的结果与像素聚合方法的结果进行对比。结果表明:1面向对象的图像分割方法能够更好地保存对景观格局提取至关重要的微细景观特征,并在尺度上推过程中延缓这些细微特征消失;2基于Delaunay-Voronoi数据结构的景观格局模型有利于面向对象影像分析的景观镶嵌、连续和连接特征的混合及其多尺度表达,更适用于高分辨率遥感景观格局信息提取。     

Automated parameterisation for multi-scale image segmentation on multiple layers

We introduce a new automated approach to parameterising multi-scale image segmentation of multiple layers, and we implemented it as a generic tool for the eCognition® software. This approach relies on the potential of the local variance (LV) to detect scale transitions in geospatial data. The tool detects the number of layers added to a project and segments them iteratively with a multiresolution segmentation algorithm in a bottom-up approach, where the scale factor in the segmentation, namely, the scale parameter (SP), increases with a constant increment. The average LV value of the objects in all of the layers is computed and serves as a condition for stopping the iterations: when a scale level records an LV value that is equal to or lower than the previous value, the iteration ends, and the objects segmented in the previous level are retained. Three orders of magnitude of SP lags produce a corresponding number of scale levels. Tests on very high resolution imagery provided satisfactory results for generic applicability. The tool has a significant potential for enabling objectivity and automation of GEOBIA analysis.     

激光扫描点云图像背景交互式滤除

激光扫描系统获取的数据中包含了大量背景信息,给信息提取和表面重建工作带来严重影响,需要有效滤除。依据空间点与平面的位置关系,提出了针对车载激光扫描点云图像背景信息滤除的有效方法,并以OpenGL为工具,开发了一系列点云数据处理工具,能快速、直观、准确地滤除无用背景信息,完整地保留有用的前景信息,从而为大规模三维场景快速重建提供保障。     

LiDAR测量点云融合影像的分块滤波方法

针对现有LiDAR地面点滤波算法对复杂地形地物适应性不强的问题,本文提出了一种融合点云与地面影像分块滤波的方法。首先,将地面影像与点云匹配,使点云从影像中获取更多的光谱纹理信息。然后,分析地物光谱、林地相对密度、点云高程特征、地面DSM模型及其坡度,并基于决策级融合将原始点云切割成若干独立的区块。最后,根据每块区域不同的多元细节特征,对IPTD滤波算法进行改进并利用搜索法优化参数,得到最优且稳健的结果。利用滤波后的总地面点通过插值算法得到的DEM模型和相关试验验证了本文算法的优越性。     

高光谱影像的引导滤波多尺度特征提取

为了解决高光谱遥感影像分类中单一尺度特征无法有效表达地物类间差异和区分地物边界的不足,提高影像分类精度和改善分类目视解译效果,提出了采用引导滤波提取多尺度的空间特征的方法。首先,利用主成分分析对高光谱影像进行降维,移除噪声并突出主要特征;然后,将第1主成分作为引导影像,将包含信息量最多的若干主成分分别作为输入影像,应用依次增加的滤波半径分别进行引导滤波处理提取多个尺度的特征,获得影像不同尺度的结构信息;最后,将多尺度特征输入分类器中进行影像监督分类。采用仿真数据和帕维亚大学(Pavia University)、帕维亚城区(Pavia Centre)等3幅高光谱实验数据,提取了基于引导滤波的多尺度特征、多尺度形态特征和多尺度纹理特征,输入到支持向量机、随机森林和K近邻分类器中,进行了实验。实验结果表明:采用支持向量机分类Pavia University数据,相对于采用多尺度形态特征的分类结果,引导滤波特征的总体精度提高了6.5%;Pavia Centre和Salinas两幅影像最高分类精度均由引导滤波特征实现,分别达到98.51%和98.39%。实验证实基于引导滤波提取的多尺度特征能有效地描述地物结构,进而获得更高的分类精度和改善目视解译效果。     

基于非线性扩散的纹理分割

A texture image segmentation based on nonlinear diffusion is presented. The scale of texture can be measured during the process of nonlinear diffusion. A smooth 5-channel vector image with edge preserved, which is composed of intensity, scale and orientation of texture image, can be achieved by coupled nonlinear diffusion. A multi-channel statistical region active contour is employed to segment this vector image. The method can be seen as a kind of unsupervised segmentation because parameters are not sensitive to different texture images. Experimental results show its high efficiency in the semiautomatic extraction of texture image.     

Improving satellite image classification by using fractional type convolution filtering

This letter shows how conventional methods for satellite image classification can be improved by applying some filtering algorithms as a pre-classifying step. We will introduce a filtering scheme based on convolution equations of fractional type. The use of this kind of filter as a pre-classification step will be illustrated by classifying MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data to map burned areas in Mediterranean countries. The methodology we propose improved the estimations obtained by merely classifying the post-fire images (i.e. without filtering) in the study areas considered.     

The comparison index: A tool for assessing the accuracy of image segmentation

Segmentation algorithms applied to remote sensing data provide valuable information about the size, distribution and context of landscape objects at a range of scales. However, there is a need for well-defined and robust validation tools to assessing the reliability of segmentation results. Such tools are required to assess whether image segments are based on ‘real’ objects, such as field boundaries, or on artefacts of the image segmentation algorithm. These tools can be used to improve the reliability of any land-use/land-cover classifications or landscape analyses that is based on the image segments.The validation algorithm developed in this paper aims to: (a) localize and quantify segmentation inaccuracies; and (b) allow the assessment of segmentation results on the whole. The first aim is achieved using object metrics that enable the quantification of topological and geometric object differences. The second aim is achieved by combining these object metrics into a ‘Comparison Index’, which allows a relative comparison of different segmentation results. The approach demonstrates how the Comparison Index CI can be used to guide trial-and-error techniques, enabling the identification of a segmentation scale H that is close to optimal. Once this scale has been identified a more detailed examination of the CI–H- diagrams can be used to identify precisely what H value and associated parameter settings will yield the most accurate image segmentation results.The procedure is applied to segmented Landsat scenes in an agricultural area in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The segmentations were generated using the ‘Fractal Net Evolution Approach’, which is implemented in the eCognition software.     

A new approach for surface water change detection: Integration of pixel level image fusion and image classification techniques

Normally, to detect surface water changes, water features are extracted individually using multi-temporal satellite data, and then analyzed and compared to detect their changes. This study introduced a new approach for surface water change detection, which is based on integration of pixel level image fusion and image classification techniques. The proposed approach has the advantages of producing a pansharpened multispectral image, simultaneously highlighting the changed areas, as well as providing a high accuracy result. In doing so, various fusion techniques including Modified IHS, High Pass Filter, Gram Schmidt, and Wavelet-PC were investigated to merge the multi-temporal Landsat ETM+ 2000 and TM 2010 images to highlight the changes. The suitability of the resulting fused images for change detection was evaluated using edge detection, visual interpretation, and quantitative analysis methods. Subsequently, artificial neural network (ANN), support vector machine (SVM), and maximum likelihood (ML) classification techniques were applied to extract and map the highlighted changes. Furthermore, the applicability of the proposed approach for surface water change detection was evaluated in comparison with some common change detection methods including image differencing, principal components analysis, and post classification comparison. The results indicate that Lake Urmia lost about one third of its surface area in the period 2000–2010. The results illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, especially Gram Schmidt-ANN and Gram Schmidt-SVM for surface water change detection.     

Small-scale surface mining of gold placers: Detection,mapping, and temporal analysis through the use of free satellite imagery

Informal small-scale mining is spread in many countries and provides livelihood to numerous families in rural areas yet often with devastating social and environmental impacts. The alluvial gold mining process in Colombia, also known as placer mining, involves excavations using heavy machinery and creates large footprints of bare soil and mining ponds. The very dynamic nature of this extractive activity and its spread in rural and remote areas make its mapping and monitoring very challenging. The use of freely available satellite data of the Copernicus programme provides great new possibilities to study these activities and provides stakeholders integrated data to better understand the spatial and temporal extent of the activities and mitigate affected areas. The objective of this work is to assess the potential of Sentinel-2 data to identify mining areas and to understand the dynamics in landcover change over a study area located at the border of the municipalities of El Bagre and Zaragoza in Bajo Cauca, Colombia. The study utilizes a classification approach followed by post-processing using field knowledge on a set of images from 2016 to 2019. Sequential pattern mining of classified images shows the likelihood of certain annual and seasonal changes in mining-impacted landcover and in the natural vegetation. The results show a slight reduction in the detected mining areas from 2016 to 2019. On the other hand, there are more mining activities in the dry season than in the wet season. Excavated areas of bare soil have a 50% chance to remain in excavation over the considered period or they transition to non-vegetated areas or mining ponds. Vegetation loss due to the extractive activities corresponds to about 35% while recovered vegetated areas are 7% of the total excavated areas in June 2019. An analysis of abandoned sites using NDVI shows that it takes a much longer period than the one considered in this paper for potential natural recovery of vegetation. Finally, the work was disseminated among stakeholders and the public on MapX (https://mapx.org), an online open platform for mapping and visualizing geospatial data on natural resources. It is a pilot study the will be the basis of the analysis of more regions in the department of Antioquia.     

车载视频图像序列卡尔曼滤波及其移动量测应用

提出了一种基于特征对应和扩展卡尔曼滤波的运动与结构重建方法,对运动与结构重建在车载视频移动量测中的应用问题进行了分析研究,结合立体视频量测技术,在移动量测系统中对该方法进行了检验。结果表明,文中方法正确可行,精度较高,抗噪性能好,具有很好的移动量测应用价值。