Urban road extraction from high-resolution optical satellite images

In recent years, many approaches have been exploited for automatic urban road extraction. Most of these approaches are based on edge and line detecting algorithms. In this paper, a new integrated system for automatic extraction of main roads in high-resolution optical satellite images is present. Firstly, a multi-scale greylevel morphological cleaning algorithm is proposed to reduce the grey deviation of the road regions. Secondly, based on the greylevel difference between road surfaces and environmental objects, a colour high-resolution satellite image is segmented into a simplified imagemap by using the mean shift algorithm, which consists of three stages. The first stage deals with image filtering, the second stage deals with colour segmentation, and the third stage is proposed to fuse small regions in the segmented image. The mean shift filter algorithm not only smoothes the image, but also preserves abrupt changes (i.e. edges) in the local structure. The mean shift segmentation algorithm is a straightforward extension of the smoothing algorithm, which preserves discontinuity. From the histogram of the simplified imagemap, we can find the potential road surfaces, and use greylevel threshold to convert the segmented image into a binary one. The binary image is processed by using binary mathematical morphological closing and opening to remove small objects and to open the connected street blocks. We use a contour tracing algorithm to remove holes in street-block regions and to detect the street blocks' contours. In this research we found that many street blocks' contours were preserved perfectly, except for some of them which were depressed. Finally, we utilize the convex hull algorithm to smooth the street blocks' zigzag edges and to close the gaps in some street blocks, and then, we get the road edges. The integrated system for road network extraction is tested on the red band of an IKONOS multispectral image; all algorithms in this study are developed in C++ under Windows XP operating system. Results of the road network extraction are presented to illustrate the validation of the extracting strategy and the corresponding algorithms in this research, and future prospects are exposed.     

基于直线检测算法的卫星图片中建筑物轮廓提取

提出一种方法,可以从卫星图像中自动检测建筑物.介绍了直线提取和直线合并的算法,分别讨论算法的实现结果和对结果的评价.建筑物检测的结果为矢量的二维候选数据,缩短了原始图像数据和最后对图像理解之间的差距.     

Detecting shadows in high-resolution remote-sensing images of urban areas using spectral and spatial features

In accordance with the characteristics of urban high-resolution (HR) remote-sensing images, we propose a shadow detection algorithm that combines spectral and spatial features. Rather than pixel-based shadow features, the proposed features are based on shadow regions obtained by the object-based segmentation method. First, based on the shadow ratio map, the candidate shadow pixels are acquired by the Otsu method. The candidate shadow regions can be identified using connected component analysis. In the candidate shadow regions, shadow spectral and spatial features are calculated. With these two features, the true shadow regions can be distinguished from candidate shadow regions. Experiments and comparisons indicate that our proposed algorithm is feasible and effective for shadow detection in both aerial and satellite images.     

Building extraction based on stereo analysis of high-resolution SAR images taken from orthogonal aspect directions

In this paper high-resolution SAR images of an urban scene are analyzed in order to infer buildings and their heights from the different layover effects in perpendicular taken views. Due to the strong dependence of the appearance of objects on the lighting and viewing direction, it is unlikely that a simple image-matching method would succeed. Instead, higher level object matching is proposed. Here, a knowledge-based approach is applied, a production system. The images are analyzed separately for the presence of certain object groups and their characteristics frequently appearing on buildings, such as salient rows, rectangular structures, or symmetries. The stereo analysis is then accomplished locally by means of productions that combine and match these image objects and infer the height. The approach is tested using real SAR data of an urban scene.     

Building extraction from very high-resolution synthetic aperture radar images based on statistical and structural information fusion

To investigate the limits of building detection from very high-resolution (VHR) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images, a new method, based on statistical and structural information fusion, is proposed in this paper. The proposed method contains two stages: First, using order statistics constant false alarm rate (OS-CFAR) and power ratio (PR) detectors, a set of detections are made. These detections have different statistical properties, compared to the other objects, and these properties are selected for discriminating buildings from clutters. Second, the morphological analysis is used for increasing the precision of the detection. In this stage, segments, which have the most similarities to buildings in terms of shape and size, are extracted via various structural elements (SEs). The final result is obtained by fusing the two sets of detections. The experimental results on the four real VHR SAR images show that the proposed method has a high detection rate (DR) and low false alarm rate (FAR).     

2D/3D information fusion for building extraction from high-resolution satellite stereo images using kernel graph cuts

This study presents a building extraction strategy from High-resolution satellite stereo images (HRSSI) using 2D and 3D information fusion. In the 2D processing strategy, a visible vegetation index (VVI) is generated. In the 3D processing, a disparity map is generated using semi-global matching (SGM). To remove defects from the disparity map, an object-based approach is proposed by using mean-shift image segmentation and extracting rectangles. By removing terrain effects, a normalized disparity map (nDM) is produced. In the next step, vegetation pixels are removed from nDM and an initial building mask is generated. As nDM does not have precise building boundaries, hybrid segmentation by the kernel graph cut (KGC) is applied to the feature space including the RGB, nDM, and VVI and the results are used in a decision level fusion step. By this methodology, segments that are highly intersected with initial building mask are classified as buildings. Finally, a building boundary refinement (BBR) algorithm is applied to buildings for removing the remaining defects. The proposed method is applied to two pairs of GeoEye-1 stereo images including residential and industrial test areas. Evaluation results show the completeness and correctness level of higher than 90% for the two test areas. Further evaluations show that the quality metric has significantly changed after decision level fusion using the KGC.     

Impervious surface extraction from high-resolution satellite image using pixel- and object-based hybrid analysis

High-resolution satellite imaging provides a wealth of details about the Earth's surface, but it is still a challenge to determine the complex, impervious surface from high-resolution satellite images. A pixel- and object-based hybrid analysis (POHA) method is proposed for the extraction task. Pixel-based analysis is first applied to provide prior knowledge; then, based on prior knowledge, the subsequent object-based analysis is simply to find similar rather than new impervious objects using a weighted minimum distance strategy. In order to combine different image analysis methods, the segmentation masking strategy was introduced to transform the image analysis from pixel level to object level. A QuickBird image of Hangzhou City in China was used to test POHA. Furthermore, POHA was compared with both the pixel-based analysis and object-based image analysis (OBIA) methods, showing that POHA runs with limited human–computer interactions, and can provide accurate impervious surface mapping.     

Extracting road centrelines from high-resolution satellite images using active window line segment matching and improved SSDA

This paper presents a new semi-automatic approach to extracting main road centrelines from high-resolution satellite images. The approach is based on active window line segment matching and an improved sequential similarity detection algorithm (SSDA). First, a user-specified point on the road centreline is selected as a reference central point to define a template window, and a thresholding operation is performed within the window. Then a best matched target window along the road is searched to determine the next central point in the road. To avoid the influence of noise, only the line segment of ‘interest’ in the window is matched. An improved SSDA searching strategy is proposed to increase the matching speed. When the best matched target window is found, its centre is used as the next central point in the road, and a new template window is generated. By repeating the matching process, a series of central points can be obtained automatically and the corresponding final road centreline from them is extracted. Our approach also allows some kinds of user interventions in case automatic tracking fails. Experimental results confirm that the proposed approach is capable of rapidly and accurately extracting main road centrelines and has good robustness against noise.     

Multitemporal ensemble learning for snow cover extraction from high-spatial-resolution images in mountain areas

ABSTRACT

High-spatial and -temporal resolution snow cover products in mountain areas are important to hydrological applications. The GF-1 satellite provides multispectral images with 8-m resolution and a revisit up to 2 days, which makes it possible to produce snow cover products. However, it is challenging to extract snow cover from these images because of limited spectral bands, severe mountain shadows, and dataset-shift problem in multitemporal classification. To overcome the limitations above, this study proposes a multitemporal ensemble learning framework to extract snow cover from high-spatial-resolution images in mountain areas. The principle behind ensemble learning, i.e. learning from disagreement, is extended from single image classification to multitemporal ones. We assume that multitemporal training samples selected within time-invariant classes at the same locations can be different in feature space. Such disagreements are used in multitemporal ensemble learning to improve classification accuracy. To enhance both accuracy and diversity of the multiple classifiers trained on these samples, a joint feature selection method is suggested to select the optimal multitemporal feature space and a joint parameter optimization method is designed to ensemble classifiers trained for multitemporal images. The experiments show that the performances of multitemporal ensemble classifiers are superior to that of single classifiers, confirming the effectiveness of the proposed framework.     

Motion analysis in oceanographic satellite images using multiscale methods and the energy cascade

Motion analysis of complex signals is a particularly important and difficult topic, as classical Computer Vision and Image Processing methodologies, either based on some extended conservation hypothesis or regularity conditions, may show their inherent limitations. An important example of such signals are those coming from the remote sensing of the oceans. In those signals, the inherent complexities of the acquired phenomenon (a fluid in the regime of fully developed turbulence—FDT) are made even more fraught through the alterations coming from the acquisition process (sun glint, haze, missing data etc.). The importance of understanding and computing vector fields associated to motion in the oceans or in the atmosphere (e.g.: cloud motion) raises some fundamental questions and the need for derivating motion analysis and understanding algorithms that match the physical characteristics of the acquired signals. Among these questions, one of the most fundamental is to understand what classical methodologies (e.g.: such as the various implementations of the optical flow) are missing, and how their drawbacks can be mitigated. In this paper, we show that the fundamental problem of motion evaluation in complex and turbulent acquisitions can be tackled using new multiscale characterizations of transition fronts. The use of appropriate paradigms coming from Statistical Physics can be combined with some specific Signal Processing evaluation of the microcanonical cascade associated to turbulence. This leads to radically new methods for computing motion fields in these signals. These methods are first assessed on the results of a 3D oceanic circulation model, and then applied on real data.     

Improving detailed rule-based feature extraction of urban areas from WorldView-2 image and lidar data

Urbanization is commonly accepted as an important contributor to the growth of man-made structures and as a rapid convertor of natural environments to impervious surfaces. Roofs are one class of impervious surface whose materials can highly influence the quality of urban surface water. In this study, two data sources, WorldView-2 (WV-2) imagery and a combination of WV-2 and lidar data, were utilized to map intra-urban targets, with 13 classes. Images were classified using object-based image analysis. Pixel-based classifications using the support vector machine (SVM) and maximum likelihood (ML) methods were also tested for their abilities to use both lidar data and WV-2 imagery. ML and SVM classifications yielded overall accuracies of 72.46% and 75.69%, respectively. The results of these classifiers exhibited mixed pixels and salt-and-pepper effects. Spectral, spatial, and textural attributes as well as various spectral indices were employed in the object-based classification of WV-2 imagery. Feature classification of WV-2 imagery resulted in 85% overall accuracy. Lidar data were added to WV-2 imagery to assist in the spatial and spectral diversities of urban infrastructures. Classified image made from WV-2 imagery and lidar data achieved 92.84% overall accuracy. Rule-sets of these fused datasets effectively reduced the spectral variation and spatial heterogeneities of intra-urban classes, causing finer boundaries among land-cover classes. Therefore, object-based classification of WV-2 imagery and lidar data efficiently improved detailed characterization of roof types and other urban surface materials.     

A method for obtaining and applying classification parameters in object-based urban rooftop extraction from VHR multispectral images

Object-based methods of urban feature extraction from high spatial resolution remotely sensed data rely on semantic inference of spatial and contextual classification parameters in scenes of regular spatial or material composition. In this study, a supervised statistics-based method of determining and applying discretive parameters of rooftops in urban scenes of irregular composition is presented. After preprocessing to pansharpen IKONOS image data, the method includes the following steps: (1) image segmentation; (2) supervised object-based classification into broad spectral classes including impervious surfaces; (3) spectral, spatial, textural and contextual parameters are developed from statistical comparison of the sample rooftop and other impervious surface objects and (4) these parameters are implemented in a fuzzy logic rule base to separate rooftops from other impervious surfaces. Classification of a test scene results in 93% accuracy of rooftop identification, demonstrating the applicability of the method to the discrimination of spectrally similar but semantically variable classes.     

Homological methods for extraction and analysis of linear features in multidimensional images

We show that the problem of extracting linear features from a noisy image and counting the number of branching points may be successfully solved by homological methods applied directly to the image without the need of skeletonization and the analysis of the resulting graph. The method is based on the superimposition of a mask set over the original image and works even when the homology of the feature is trivial and in arbitrary dimension. We tested the method on computer-generated data, 2D images of blood vessels, 2D satellite images and 3D images of collagen fibers.     

Edge- and region-based segmentation technique for the extraction of large, man-made objects in high-resolution satellite imagery

A new object-oriented segmentation approach with special focus on shape analysis was developed for the extraction of large, man-made objects, especially agricultural fields, in high-resolution panchromatic satellite imagery. The approach, a combination of region- and edge-based techniques, includes new methods for the evaluation of straight edges, edge preserving degradation, and edge-guided region growing.     

Anatomic compartments extraction from diffusion medical images using factorial analysis and K-means clustering methods: a combined analysis tool

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Currently, diffusion medical imaging is used for the exploration and diagnosis of brain anatomy in clinical practice. Several methods for the extraction of...     

Investigation of Kuroshio-induced cold-core eddy trains in the lee of the Izu Islands using high-resolution satellite images and numerical simulations

A series of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images acquired during the summer of 2006 revealed island wakes in the lee of the Izu Islands, south of Japan. The wakes were formed of not only meandering disturbances but also a series of eddies with diameters on the order of those of the islands. The Kuroshio flowed near these islands in the summer of 2006, indicating that the island wakes were induced by a Kuroshio-island interaction. Satellite sea-surface temperature (SST) and Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) images observed during the summer of 2006 revealed low-SST and high Chl-a wakes, some of which included low-SST eddy trains. It is thus inferred that the phenomenon entailed upwelling and mixing processes and biological productivity known as the “island-mass effect.” High-spatial-resolution SST derived by combining a LANDSAT infrared channel and AVHRR SST clearly revealed a well-defined SST front associated with the island wakes and a 1 km-scale low-SST wake pattern. A numerical simulation was performed to investigate the formation mechanism. The simulation qualitatively reproduced the cold-eddy pattern, with eddy-driven mixing developing a mixed layer down to 200 m, causing low-SST island wakes. The shedding frequency and spacing of the model-produced eddies were roughly close to those of the Kármán vortex theory, suggesting that Kármán-type cold-eddy trains are commonly formed behind the islands when the Kuroshio strong flow impinges on them.     

Mapping global urban areas using MODIS 500-m data: New methods and datasets based on ‘urban ecoregions’

Although cities, towns and settlements cover only a tiny fraction (< 1%) of the world's surface, urban areas are the nexus of human activity with more than 50% of the population and 70-90% of economic activity. As such, material and energy consumption, air pollution, and expanding impervious surface are all concentrated in urban areas, with important environmental implications at local, regional and potentially global scales. New ways to measure and monitor the built environment over large areas are thus critical to answering a wide range of environmental research questions related to the role of urbanization in climate, biogeochemistry and hydrological cycles. This paper presents a new dataset depicting global urban land at 500-m spatial resolution based on MODIS data (available at http://sage.wisc.edu/urbanenvironment.html). The methodological approach exploits temporal and spectral information in one year of MODIS observations, classified using a global training database and an ensemble decision-tree classification algorithm. To overcome confusion between urban and built-up lands and other land cover types, a stratification based on climate, vegetation, and urban topology was developed that allowed region-specific processing. Using reference data from a sample of 140 cities stratified by region, population size, and level of economic development, results show a mean overall accuracy of 93% (k = 0.65) at the pixel level and a high level of agreement at the city scale (R² = 0.90).     

Non-parametric and parametric methods using satellite images for estimating growing stock volume in alpine and Mediterranean forest ecosystems

This paper describes applications of non-parametric and parametric methods for estimating forest growing stock volume using Landsat images on the basis of data measured in the field, integrated with ancillary information. Several k-Nearest Neighbors (k-NN) algorithm configurations were tested in two study areas in Italy belonging to Mediterranean and Alpine ecosystems. Field data were acquired by the regional forest inventory and forest management plans, and satellite images are from Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 7 ETM+. The paper describes the data used, the methodologies adopted and the results achieved in terms of pixel level accuracy of forest growing stock volume estimates. The results show that several factors affect estimation accuracy when using the k-NN method. For the two test areas a total of 3500 different configurations of the k-NN algorithm were systematically tested by changing the number and type of spectral and ancillary input variables, type of multidimensional distance measures, number of nearest neighbors and methods for spectral feature extraction using the leave-one-out (LOO) procedure. The best k-NN configurations were then used for pixel level estimation; the accuracy was estimated with a bootstrapping procedure; and the results were compared to estimates obtained using parametric regression methods implemented on the same data set.

The best k-NN growing stock volume pixel level estimates in the Alpine area have a Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) ranging between 74 and 96 m³ ha^− 1 (respectively, 22% and 28% of the mean measured value) and between 106 and 135 m³ ha^− 1 (respectively, 44% and 63% of the mean measured value) in the Mediterranean area. On the whole, the results cast a promising light on the use of non-parametric techniques for forest attribute estimation and mapping with accuracy high enough to support forest planning activities in such complex landscapes. The results of the LOO analyses also highlight the importance of a local empirical optimization phase of the k-NN procedure before defining the best algorithm configuration. In the tests performed the pixel level accuracy increased, depending on the k-NN configuration, as much as 100%.     

Text information extraction in images and video: a survey

Text data present in images and video contain useful information for automatic annotation, indexing, and structuring of images. Extraction of this information involves detection, localization, tracking, extraction, enhancement, and recognition of the text from a given image. However, variations of text due to differences in size, style, orientation, and alignment, as well as low image contrast and complex background make the problem of automatic text extraction extremely challenging. While comprehensive surveys of related problems such as face detection, document analysis, and image & video indexing can be found, the problem of text information extraction is not well surveyed. A large number of techniques have been proposed to address this problem, and the purpose of this paper is to classify and review these algorithms, discuss benchmark data and performance evaluation, and to point out promising directions for future research.