Improved support vector clustering algorithm for color image segmentation

Color image segmentation has attracted more and more attention in various application fields during the past few years. Essentially speaking, color image segmentation problem is a process of clustering according to the color of pixels. But, traditional clustering methods do not scale well with the number of training sample, which limits the ability of handling massive data effectively. With the utilization of an improved approximate Minimum Enclosing Ball algorithm, this article develops an fast support vector clustering algorithm for computing the different clusters of given color images in kernel-introduced space to segment the color images. We prove theoretically that the proposed algorithm converges to the optimum within any given precision quickly. Compared to other popular algorithms, it has the competitive performances both on training time and accuracy. Color image segmentation experiments on both synthetic and real-world data sets demonstrate the validity of the proposed algorithm

Cluster Analysis Based on Bipartite Network

Clustering data has a wide range of applications and has attracted considerable attention in data mining and artificial intelligence. However it is difficult to find a set of clusters that best fits natural partitions without any class information. In this paper, a method for detecting the optimal cluster number is proposed. The optimal cluster number can be obtained by the proposal, while partitioning the data into clusters by FCM (Fuzzy c-means) algorithm. It overcomes the drawback of FCM algorithm which needs to define the cluster number c in advance. The method works by converting the fuzzy cluster result into a weighted bipartite network and then the optimal cluster number can be detected by the improved bipartite modularity. The experimental results on artificial and real data sets show the validity of the proposed method

On Limiting Behavior of the PBM and the Fuzzified PBM Cluster Validity Index

Abstract Cluster validation is the common approach for evaluating the results of clustering algorithms and to test the fitness of the obtained result. In this paper, the limiting behavior of the PBM and the fuzzified PBM (PBMF) clustering validity indices are investigated. Experimentation is conducted to study the monotonically increasing tendency of the PBM index when the number of clusters c becomes very large and close to the number of data points n. The experimental results indicate the limitations of the PBM and the PBMF cluster validity indices limited to validate partitions when the number of clusters c becomes very large and close to the number of data points n. The need for further study is emphasized from both theoretical and empirical point of view with regard to the PBM and the PBMF validity index by introducing a punishing function to avoid the indetermination due to monotonicity of the PBM index

Performance Evaluation of Cluster Validity Indices (CVIs) on Multi/Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Datasets

The number of clusters (i.e., the number of classes) for unsupervised classification has been recognized as an important part of remote sensing image clustering analysis. The number of classes is usually determined by cluster validity indices (CVIs). Although many CVIs have been proposed, few studies have compared and evaluated their effectiveness on remote sensing datasets. In this paper, the performance of 16 representative and commonly-used CVIs was comprehensively tested by applying the fuzzy c-means (FCM) algorithm to cluster nine types of remote sensing datasets, including multispectral (QuickBird, Landsat TM, Landsat ETM+, FLC1, and GaoFen-1) and hyperspectral datasets (Hyperion, HYDICE, ROSIS, and AVIRIS). The preliminary experimental results showed that most CVIs, including the commonly used DBI (Davies-Bouldin index) and XBI (Xie-Beni index), were not suitable for remote sensing images (especially for hyperspectral images) due to significant between-cluster overlaps; the only effective index for both multispectral and hyperspectral data sets was the WSJ index (WSJI). Such important conclusions can serve as a guideline for future remote sensing image clustering applications

Fuzzy Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm for a Supplier Clustering Problem

This paper presents a fuzzy decision-making approach to deal with a clustering supplier problem in a supply chain system. During recent years, determining suitable suppliers in the supply chain has become a key strategic consideration. However, the nature of these decisions is usually complex and unstructured. In general, many quantitative and qualitative factors, such as quality, price, and flexibility and delivery performance, must be considered to determine suitable suppliers. The aim of this study is to present a new approach using particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm for clustering suppliers under fuzzy environments and classifying smaller groups with similar characteristics. Our numerical analysis indicates that the proposed PSO improves the performance of the fuzzy c-means (FCM) algorithm

Automatic Detection of Moroccan Coastal Upwelling Zones using Sea Surface Temperature Images

International audienceAn efficient unsupervised method is developed for automatic segmentation of the area covered by upwelling waters in the coastal ocean of Morocco using the Sea Surface Temperature (SST) satellite images. The proposed approach first uses the two popular unsupervised clustering techniques, k-means and fuzzy c-means (FCM), to provide different possible classifications to each SST image. Then several cluster validity indices are combined in order to determine the optimal number of clusters, followed by a cluster fusion scheme, which merges consecutive clusters to produce a first segmentation of upwelling area. The region-growing algorithm is then used to filter noisy residuals and to extract the final upwelling region. The performance of our algorithm is compared to a popular algorithm used to detect upwelling regions and is validated by an oceanographer over a database of 92 SST images covering each week of the years 2006 and 2007. The results show that our proposed method outperforms the latter algorithm, in terms of segmentation accuracy and computational efficiency

Clustering of fMRI data: the elusive optimal number of clusters

Model-free methods are widely used for the processing of brain fMRI data collected under natural stimulations, sleep, or rest. Among them is the popular fuzzy c-mean algorithm, commonly combined with cluster validity (CV) indices to identify the ‘true’ number of clusters (components), in an unsupervised way. CV indices may however reveal different optimal c-partitions for the same fMRI data, and their effectiveness can be hindered by the high data dimensionality, the limited signal-to-noise ratio, the small proportion of relevant voxels, and the presence of artefacts or outliers. Here, the author investigated the behaviour of seven robust CV indices. A new CV index that incorporates both compactness and separation measures is also introduced. Using both artificial and real fMRI data, the findings highlight the importance of looking at the behavior of different compactness and separation measures, defined here as building blocks of CV indices, to depict a full description of the data structure, in particular when no agreement is found between CV indices. Overall, for fMRI, it makes sense to relax the assumption that only one unique c-partition exists, and appreciate that different c-partitions (with different optimal numbers of clusters) can be useful explanations of the data, given the hierarchical organization of many brain networks