Optimizing support vector machine learning for semi-arid vegetation mapping by using clustering analysis

In remote sensing communities, support vector machine (SVM) learning has recently received increasing attention. SVM learning usually requires large memory and enormous amounts of computation time on large training sets. According to SVM algorithms, the SVM classification decision function is fully determined by support vectors, which compose a subset of the training sets. In this regard, a solution to optimize SVM learning is to efficiently reduce training sets. In this paper, a data reduction method based on agglomerative hierarchical clustering is proposed to obtain smaller training sets for SVM learning. Using a multiple angle remote sensing dataset of a semi-arid region, the effectiveness of the proposed method is evaluated by classification experiments with a series of reduced training sets. The experiments show that there is no loss of SVM accuracy when the original training set is reduced to 34% using the proposed approach. Maximum likelihood classification (MLC) also is applied on the reduced training sets. The results show that MLC can also maintain the classification accuracy. This implies that the most informative data instances can be retained by this approach.     

Road condition assessment by OBIA and feature selection techniques using very high-resolution WorldView-2 imagery

Accurate information on the conditions of road asphalt is necessary for economic development and transportation management. In this study, object-based image analysis (OBIA) rule-sets are proposed based on feature selection technique to extract road asphalt conditions (good and poor) using WorldView-2 (WV-2) satellite data. Different feature selection techniques, including support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF) and chi-square (CHI) are evaluated to indicate the most effective algorithm to identify the best set of OBIA attributes (spatial, spectral, textural and colour). The chi-square algorithm outperformed SVM and RF techniques. The classification result based on CHI algorithm achieved an overall accuracy of 83.19% for the training image (first site). Furthermore, the proposed model was used to examine its performance in different areas; and it achieved accuracy levels of 83.44, 87.80 and 80.26% for the different selected areas. Therefore, the selected method can be potentially useful for detecting road conditions based on WV-2 images.     

Fusion of RADARSAT-2 and multispectral optical remote sensing data for LULC extraction in a tropical agricultural area

In this study, we investigated the performance of different fusion and classification techniques for land cover mapping in Hilir Perak, Peninsula Malaysia using RADAR and Landsat-8 images in a predominantly agricultural area. The fusion methods used are Brovey Transform, Wavelet Transform, Ehlers and Layer Stacking and their results classified into seven different land cover classes which include (1) pixel-based classifiers (spectral angle mapper (SAM), maximum likelihood (ML), support vector machine (SVM)) and (2) Object-based (rule-based and standard nearest neighbour (NN)) classifiers. The result shows that pixel-based classification achieved maximum accuracy of the optical data classification using SVM in Landsat-8 with 74.96% accuracy compared to SAM and ML. For multisource data classification, the highest overall accuracy recorded for layer stacking (SVM) was 79.78%, Ehlers fusion (SVM) with 45.57%, Brovey fusion (SVM) with 63.70% and Wavelet fusion (SVM) 61.16%. And for object-based classifiers, the overall classification accuracy is 95.35% for rule-based and 76.33% for NN classifier, respectively. Based on the analysis of their performances, object-based and the rule-based classifiers produced the best classification accuracy from the fused images.     

人工蜂群算法优化的SVM遥感影像分类

SVM分类器的参数设定对分类精度有着显著的影响,针对现有人工智能算法优化参数易陷入局部最优的现状,提出了一种基于人工蜂群算法改进SVM参数的遥感分类方法(ABC-SVM)。该方法模仿蜜蜂采蜜的行为,以训练样本的交叉验证精度代表蜜源的丰富程度,通过蜂群的分工协作搜索出最优蜜源(即SVM分类器最优参数),最终利用参数优化后的SVM分类器实现遥感影像的分类。本文先后比较了3种人工智能算法(包括人工蜂群算法优化的SVM(ABC-SVM)、遗传算法GA(Genetic Algorithm)优化的SVM(GA-SVM)、粒子群算法PSO(Practical Swarm Optimization)优化的SVM(PSO-SVM))在UCI标准数据集上的分类精度和效率,以及3种人工智能算法优化的SVM算法与未经优化参数的SVM算法在遥感影像上分类的差异。结果显示:(1)在利用UCI数据集测试3种人工智能算法优化的SVM算法的结果中,ABC-SVM显示出更高的分类精度、更高的适应度和更快的收敛速度;(2)在利用遥感影像验证4种分类算法精度的结果中,人工智能算法优化后的SVM比未经参数优化的SVM算法的分类精度更高;其中,ABC-SVM分类精度最高,分别比遗传算法、粒子群算法的结果高1.67%、1.50%。     

聚类特征和SVM组合的高光谱影像半监督协同分类

本文提出了一种聚类特征和SVM组合的高光谱影像半监督协同分类方法。利用构建的协同分类框架能够将KSFCM聚类算法与半监督SVM分类器相结合,同时利用聚类和分类优势,提高分类器的分类准确率。其中,通过聚类损耗函数、分类一致函数、分类差异性、样本差异性四个指数用以构建协同分类框架,以充分利用少量类标签样本信息,避免高光谱类标签样本获取困难问题,在一定程度上解决SVM支持向量随着训练样本增加而线性增加的问题,从而寻求最佳分类结果。实验结果表明,本文所提方法得到的分类精度优于直接利用SVM进行半监督分类。     

Genetic Algorithm Based Feature Subset Selection for Land Cover/ Land Use Mapping Using Wavelet Packet Transform

A genetic algorithm based approach is used in this paper for the selection of a subset from the combination of Wavelet Packet Statistical and Wavelet Packet Co-occurrence textural feature sets to classify the LISS IV satellite images using neural networks. Generally, adding a new feature increases the complexity of training and classification. Hence there is a need to differentiate between those features that contribute ample information and others. Many current feature reduction techniques such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) involve linear transformations of the original pattern vectors to new vectors of lower dimensions. Hence a multi-objective Genetic Algorithm has been employed to reduce the complexity and increase the accuracy of classification. Four indices - user’s accuracy, producer’s accuracy, overall accuracy and kappa co-efficient are used to assess the accuracy of the classified data. Experimental results show that the proposed Genetic Algorithm approach with lesser number of optimal features produces comparable results with that of our earlier approach using more features.     

利用深层卷积神经网络实现地形辅助的多波束海底底质分类

海底底质分类对于海洋资源开发与利用、海洋科学研究等多方面具有重要意义。目前,多波束探测是实现大范围海底底质分类的有效手段之一,通常基于多波束反向散射强度提取角度响应(AR)特征及反向散射图像特征进行底质分类。由于特征来源较单一,分类器结构简单,往往分类精度不高。为此,本文提出了一种基于深层卷积神经网络(CNN)的多波束海底底质分类方法。除反向散射强度特征外,还利用地形特征,将特征向量转换为波形图,再输入卷积神经网络进行训练和分类。试验对比不同特征组合以及BP网络、支持向量机(SVM)、K近邻(KNN)、随机森林(RF)4种常规分类器,本文模型算法总体分类精度达到94.86%,Kappa系数为0.93,精度具有明显优势,效率也比较高。表明该方法有效利用两种数据类型所蕴含的海底底质信息,充分发挥卷积神经网络权值共享、高效率等特点,实现高分辨率海底底质分类,可对海底底质分类研究提供参考。     

Effects of Training Samples and Classifiers on Classification of Landsat-8 Imagery

In this study, we used Landsat-8 imagery to test object- and pixel-based image classification approaches in an urban fringe area. For object-based classification, we applied four machine learning classifiers: decision tree (DT), naive Bayes (NB), random trees (RT), and support vector machine (SVM). For pixel-based classification, we utilized the maximum likelihood classifier (MLC). Specifically, we explored the influence of repeated sampling on classification results with different training sample sizes. We found that (1) except the overall accuracy of NB, those of the other four classifiers increased as the training sample size increased; (2) repeated sampling had a significant effect on classification accuracy, especially for the DT and NB classifiers; and (3) SVM achieved the best classification accuracy. In addition, the performance of the object-based classifiers was superior to that of the pixel-based classifier. The results of this study can provide guidance on the training sample size and classifier selection.     

Multi-temporal remote sensing data applied in automatic land cover update using iterative training sample selection and Markov Random Field model

Automatic land cover update was an effective means to obtain objective and timely land cover maps without human disturbance. This study investigated the efficacy of multi-temporal remote sensing data and advanced non-parametric classifier on improving the classification accuracy of the automatic land cover update approach integrating iterative training sample selection and Markov Random Fields model when the historical remote sensing data were unavailable. The results indicated that two-temporal remote sensing data acquired in one crop growth season could significantly improve the classification accuracy of the automatic land cover update approach by approximately 3–4%. However, the support vector machine (SVM) classifier was not suitable to be integrated in the automatic land cover update approach, because the huge initially selected training samples made the training of the SVM classifier unrealizable.     

综合聚类和上下文特征的高光谱影像分类

常规高光谱影像逐像素分类往往没有考虑空间相关性,分类结果未体现地物的空间关联和分布特征。为了在分类中充分利用空间特征,利用聚类信息并结合隐马尔可夫随机场模型讨论了高光谱遥感影像光谱-空间分类方法。首先,在不同特征提取方法（最小噪声分离、独立成分分析和主成分分析）下,使用不同聚类方法（k-均值、迭代自组织分析算法和模糊c-均值算法）借助隐马尔可夫随机场获取优化的分割图;然后,采用4连通区域标记法对分割区域标记生成图像对象,并根据支持向量机的逐像素分类结果采用多数投票法对图像对象进行分类;最后,借助凹槽窗口邻域滤波技术改进分类结果,削弱“椒盐”现象。该方法综合了监督分类和非监督分类的优势,通过聚类引入地物空间相关性信息,通过隐马尔可夫随机场引入上下文特征,较好地弥补了单纯基于光谱信息分类的不足。     

MRELBP特征、Franklin矩和SVM相结合的遥感图像建筑物识别方法

为了进一步提高遥感图像建筑物区域的识别精度,提出了一种基于中值稳健扩展局部二值模式(median robust extended local binary pattern,MRELBP)、Franklin矩和布谷鸟优化支持向量机(support vector machine,SVM)的分类方法。首先,通过MRELBP特征算子计算图像块的纹理特征向量,并根据Franklin矩得到形状特征向量,组合图像块的纹理特征向量和形状特征向量得到综合特征向量;然后,利用训练样本对SVM进行训练,同时由布谷鸟搜索算法对SVM的核函数参数和惩罚因子进行优化;最后,通过训练好的SVM得到建筑物区域识别结果。通过30组试验的结果表明,与基于三原色(red green blue,RGB)和SVM的分类方法、基于LBP和SVM的分类方法、基于Zernike矩和SVM的分类方法相比,本文提出的方法所识别的遥感图像建筑物区域准确度更高。     

LSSVM算法在极化SAR影像分类中的应用

最小二乘支持向量机(LSSVM)是针对标准支持向量机(SVM)算法训练时间长的问题而提出的一种改进算法。针对SVM算法在极化SAR影像分类时存在效率较低的问题,以目标分解理论为基础,对LSSVM算法应用于极化SAR影像分类的有效性进行了研究。结果表明,对于极化SAR影像分类,LSSVM算法与SVM算法的分类精度相当,但时间效率远优于SVM算法,并且对参数的调整也具有更好的稳定性,同时泛化能力良好。     

基于混合式特征选择的高分五号影像农田识别

精准农田识别是农作物估产和粮食安全评估的基础。遥感数据作为农田识别的重要数据源,可提供动态、快速的监测结果。高光谱数据在农田识别分类方面具有巨大的应用潜力,但其中的冗余波段影响了分类效率和分类精度。因此,本研究提出了一种适用于高光谱数据农田分类的混合式特征选择算法。首先,基于变量的重要性排序或约束程度,按步长逐步进行降维;其次,寻找分类精度骤减的转折点,并将其对应的变量作为特征子集;最后,利用序列后向选择SBS（Sequential Backward Selection）方法搜索最优分类特征子集。本研究利用GF-5高光谱数据,共研究了3种降维方法（随机森林RF（Random Forest）、互信息MI（Multi-Information）和L1正则化（L1 regularization））和3种分类算法（随机森林、支持向量机SVM（Support Vector Machine）和K近邻KNN（K-Nearest Neighbor））的组合在农田分类中的表现。结果表明,基于L1正则化法得到的特征子集自相关性较低,并且包含的红边和近红外波段有效提高了农田、森林和裸土的区分度。在不同分类模型比较中发现,SVM在高维空间中表现出非常好的抗噪能力,分类精度高于RF和KNN。而RF在低维空间中的泛化能力要高于SVM和KNN。相比于第一步降维得到的特征子集,使用SBS搜索得到的最优特征子集均提高了分类精度。最终,具有23维输入的L1-SVM-SBS分类模型得到了最高的总体分类精度（94.64%）和农田召回率（95.83%）。本研究为高光谱数据特征优选提供了一种新思路,筛选出了更具代表性的特征波段,提高了农田分类精度,对高光谱遥感分类研究具有参考价值。     

Evaluation of different machine learning methods for land cover mapping of a Mediterranean area using multi-seasonal Landsat images and Digital Terrain Models

Land cover monitoring using digital Earth data requires robust classification methods that allow the accurate mapping of complex land cover categories. This paper discusses the crucial issues related to the application of different up-to-date machine learning classifiers: classification trees (CT), artificial neural networks (ANN), support vector machines (SVM) and random forest (RF). The analysis of the statistical significance of the differences between the performance of these algorithms, as well as sensitivity to data set size reduction and noise were also analysed. Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper data captured in European spring and summer were used with auxiliary variables derived from a digital terrain model to classify 14 different land cover categories in south Spain. Overall, statistically similar accuracies of over 91% were obtained for ANN, SVM and RF. However, the findings of this study show differences in the accuracy of the classifiers, being RF the most accurate classifier with a very simple parameterization. SVM, followed by RF, was the most robust classifier to noise and data reduction. Significant differences in their performances were only reached for thresholds of noise and data reduction greater than 20% (noise, SVM) and 25% (noise, RF), and 80% (reduction, SVM) and 50% (reduction, RF), respectively.     

Development of fuzzy rule-based parameters for urban object-oriented classification using very high resolution imagery

Urban areas consist of spectrally and spatially heterogeneous features. Advanced information extraction techniques are needed to handle high resolution imageries in providing detailed information for urban planning applications. This study was conducted to identify a technique that accurately maps impervious and pervious surfaces from WorldView-2 (WV-2) imagery. Supervised per-pixel classification algorithms including Maximum Likelihood and Support Vector Machine (SVM) were utilized to evaluate the capability of spectral-based classifiers to classify urban features. Object-oriented classification was performed using supervised SVM and fuzzy rule-based approach to add spatial and texture attributes to spectral information. Supervised object-oriented SVM achieved 82.80% overall accuracy which was the better accuracy compared to supervised per-pixel classifiers. Classification based on the proposed fuzzy rule-based system revealed satisfactory output compared to other classification techniques with an overall accuracy of 87.10% for pervious surfaces and an overall accuracy of 85.19% for impervious surfaces.     

结合灰度和基于动态窗口的纹理特征的遥感影像分类

在基于灰度共生矩阵提取遥感影像纹理特征的基础上,针对固定窗口算法的局限性,提出了动态窗口算法;并将不同滑动窗口算法提取的纹理特征与影像灰度组合进行支持向量机(SVM)分类,对分类结果进行定性和定量比较分析。实验结果表明:影像灰度结合动态窗口算法提取的纹理特征进行SVM分类的分类精度优于灰度结合固定窗口算法提取的纹理特征的分类精度。因此,提出的算法较传统的固定窗口算法更具优势,是一种有效纹理信息提取方法。     

An efficient unsupervised index based approach for mapping urban vegetation from IKONOS imagery

Despite the increased availability of high resolution satellite image data, their operational use for mapping urban land cover in Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be limited by lack of computational resources and technical expertise. As such, there is need for simple and efficient image classification techniques. Using Bamenda in North West Cameroon as a test case, we investigated two completely unsupervised pixel based approaches to extract tree/shrub (TS) and ground vegetation (GV) cover from an IKONOS derived soil adjusted vegetation index. These included: (1) a simple Jenks Natural Breaks classification and (2) a two-step technique that combined the Jenks algorithm with agglomerative hierarchical clustering. Both techniques were compared with each other and with a non-linear support vector machine (SVM) for classification performance. While overall classification accuracy was generally high for all techniques (>90%), One-Way Analysis of Variance tests revealed the two step technique to outperform the simple Jenks classification in terms of predicting the GV class. It also outperformed the SVM in predicting the TS class. We conclude that the unsupervised methods are technically as good and practically superior for efficient urban vegetation mapping in budget and technically constrained regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa.     

A Hierarchical Hybrid SVM Method for Classification of Remotely Sensed Data

The focus of this work is on developing a new hierarchical hybrid Support Vector Machine (SVM) method to address the problems of classification of multi or hyper spectral remotely sensed images and provide a working technique that increases the classification accuracy while lowering the computational cost and complexity of the process. The paper presents issues in analyzing large multi/hyper spectral image data sets for dimensionality reduction, coping with intra pixel spectral variations, and selection of a flexible classifier with robust learning process. Experiments conducted revealed that a computationally cheap algorithm that uses Hamming distance between the pixel vectors of different bands to eliminate redundant bands was quite effective in helping reduce the dimensionality. The paper also presents the concept of extended mathematical morphological profiles for segregating the input pixel vectors into pure or mixed categories which will enable further computational cost reductions. The proposed method’s overall classification accuracy is tested with IRS data sets and the Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectroradiometer Indian Pines hyperspectral benchmark data set and presented.     

A systematic comparison of different object-based classification techniques using high spatial resolution imagery in agricultural environments

Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis (GEOBIA) is becoming more prevalent in remote sensing classification, especially for high-resolution imagery. Many supervised classification approaches are applied to objects rather than pixels, and several studies have been conducted to evaluate the performance of such supervised classification techniques in GEOBIA. However, these studies did not systematically investigate all relevant factors affecting the classification (segmentation scale, training set size, feature selection and mixed objects). In this study, statistical methods and visual inspection were used to compare these factors systematically in two agricultural case studies in China. The results indicate that Random Forest (RF) and Support Vector Machines (SVM) are highly suitable for GEOBIA classifications in agricultural areas and confirm the expected general tendency, namely that the overall accuracies decline with increasing segmentation scale. All other investigated methods except for RF and SVM are more prone to obtain a lower accuracy due to the broken objects at fine scales. In contrast to some previous studies, the RF classifiers yielded the best results and the k-nearest neighbor classifier were the worst results, in most cases. Likewise, the RF and Decision Tree classifiers are the most robust with or without feature selection. The results of training sample analyses indicated that the RF and adaboost. M1 possess a superior generalization capability, except when dealing with small training sample sizes. Furthermore, the classification accuracies were directly related to the homogeneity/heterogeneity of the segmented objects for all classifiers. Finally, it was suggested that RF should be considered in most cases for agricultural mapping.     

基于SVM决策支持树的城市植被类型遥感分类研究

城市植被类型不同,生物量不同,其生态功能与绿化效应也不同。在目前难直接获取城市“绿量”实测数据的情况下,可以绿地面积和植被类型间接反映绿地的生物量和绿化效应。本文利用高分辨率卫星影像IKONOS,以实验区与验证区城市植被类型信息为对象,在对常用的参数和非参数分类方法进行对比实验的基础上,对SVM的核函数进行了分析,构建了基于SVM决策树的城市植被类型分类模型。分类实验结果表明：与其他传统方法分类结果比较,SVM的决策树分类方法对植被类型的分类精度达到83．5％,绿化面积总精度接近95％,取得了良好的效果。