A New Search Algorithm for Feature Selection in Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Images

A new suboptimal search strategy suitable for feature selection in very high-dimensional remote-sensing images (e.g. those acquired by hyperspectral sensors) is proposed. Each solution of the feature selection problem is represented as a binary string that indicates which features are selected and which are disregarded. In turn, each binary string corresponds to a point of a multidimensional binary space. Given a criterion function to evaluate the effectiveness of a selected solution, the proposed strategy is based on the search for constrained local extremes of such a function in the above-defined binary space. In particular, two different algorithms are presented that explore the space of solutions in different ways. These algorithms are compared with the classical sequential forward selection and sequential forward floating selection suboptimal techniques, using hyperspectral remote-sensing images (acquired by the AVIRIS sensor) as a data set. Experimental results point out the effectiveness of both algorithms, which can be regarded as valid alternatives to classical methods, as they allow interesting tradeoffs between the qualities of selected feature subsets and computational cost

Fast and Robust Recursive Algorithms for Separable Nonnegative Matrix Factorization

In this paper, we study the nonnegative matrix factorization problem under the separability assumption (that is, there exists a cone spanned by a small subset of the columns of the input nonnegative data matrix containing all columns), which is equivalent to the hyperspectral unmixing problem under the linear mixing model and the pure-pixel assumption. We present a family of fast recursive algorithms, and prove they are robust under any small perturbations of the input data matrix. This family generalizes several existing hyperspectral unmixing algorithms and hence provides for the first time a theoretical justification of their better practical performance.Comment: 30 pages, 2 figures, 7 tables. Main change: Improvement of the bound of the main theorem (Th. 3), replacing r with sqrt(r

Índices espectrais baseados em programação genética para classificação de imagens de sensoriamento remoto

Orientador: Ricardo da Silva TorresDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de ComputaçãoResumo: Sensoriamento remoto é o conjunto de técnicas que permitem, por meio de sensores, analisar objetos a longas distâncias sem estabelecer contato físico com eles. Atualmente, sua contribuição em ciências naturais é enorme, dado que é possível adquirir imagens de alvos em mais regiões do espectro eletromagnético além do canal visível. Trabalhar com imagens compostas por múltiplas bandas espectrais requer tratar grandes quantidades de informação associada a uma única entidade, coisa que afeta negativamente o desempenho de algoritmos de predição, fazendo nacessário o uso de técnicas de redução da dimensionalidade. Este trabalho apresenta uma abordagem de extração de características baseada em índices espectrais aprendidos por Programação Genética (GP), que projetam os dados associados aos pixels em novos espaços de características, com o objetivo de aprimorar a acurácia de algoritmos de classificação. Índices espectrais são funções que relacionam a refletância, em canais específicos do espectro, com valores reais que podem ser interpretados como a abundância de características de interesse de objetos captados à distância. Com GP é possível aprender índices que maximizam a separabilidade de amostras de duas classes diferentes. Assim que os índices especializados para cada par possível de classes são obtidos, empregam-se duas abordagens diferentes para combiná-los e construir um sistema de classificação de pixels. Os resultados obtidos para os cenários binário e multi-classe mostram que o método proposto é competitivo com respeito a técnicas tradicionais de redução da dimensionalidade. Experimentos adicionais aplicando o método para análise sazonal de biomas tropicais mostram claramente a superioridade de índices aprendidos por GP para propósitos de discriminação, quando comparados a índices desenvolvidos por especialistas, independentemente da especificidade do problemaAbstract: Remote sensing is the set of techniques that allow, by means of sensor technologies, to analyze objects at long distances without making physical contact with them. Currently, its contribution for natural sciences is enormous, since it is possible to acquire images of target objects in more regions of the electromagnetic spectrum than the visible region only. Working with images composed of various spectral bands demands dealing with huge amounts of data associated with single entities, which affects negatively the performance in prediction tasks, and makes necessary the use of dimensionality reduction techniques. This work introduces a feature extraction approach, based on spectral indices learned by Genetic Programming (GP), to project data from pixel values into new feature spaces aiming to improve classification accuracy. Spectral indices are functions that map the reflectance of remotely sensed objects in specific wavelength intervals, into real scalars that can be interpreted as the abundance of features of interest. Through GP, it is possible to learn indices that maximize the separability of samples from two different classes. Once the indices specialized for all the pairs of classes are obtained, they are used in two different approaches to fuse them into a pixel classification system. Results for the binary and multi-class scenarios show that the proposed method is competitive with respect to traditional dimensionality reduction techniques. Additional experiments in tropical biomes seasonal analysis show clearly how superior GP-based spectral indices are for discrimination purposes, when compared to indices developed by experts, regardless the specificity of the problemMestradoCiência da ComputaçãoMestre em Ciência da Computação134089/2015-4CNP

Novel Analysis of Hyperspectral Reflectance Data for Detecting Onset of Pollen Shed in Maize

Knowledge of pollen shed dynamics in and around seed production fields is critical for ensuring a high yield of genetically pure corn seed. Recently, changes in canopy reflectance using hyperspectral reflectance have been associated with tassel emergence, which is known to precede pollen shed in a predictable manner. Practical application of this remote sensing technology, however, requires a simple and reliable method to evaluate changes in spectral images associated with the onset of tassel emergence and pollen shed. In this study, several numerical methods were investigated for estimating percentage of plants with visible tassels (VT) and percentage of plants that initiated pollen shed (IPS) from remotely sensed hyperspectral reflectance data (397 to 902 nm). Correlation analysis identified regions of the spectra that were associated with tassel emergence and anthesis (i.e., 50% of plants shedding pollen). No single band, however, generated correlations greater than 0.40 for either VT or IPS. Classification using an artificial neural network (ANN) was predictive, correctly classifying 83.5% and 88.3% of the VT and IPS data, respectively. The extensive preprocessing necessary and the black box nature of ANNs, however, rendered analysis of spectral regions difficult using this method. Partial least squares (PLS) analysis yielded models with high predictive capability (R2 of 0.80 for VT and 0.79 for IPS). The PLS coefficients, however, did not exhibit a spectrally consistent pattern. A novel range operator-enabled genetic algorithm (ROE-GA), designed to consider the shape of the spectra, had similar predictive capabilities to the ANN and PLS, but provided the added advantage of allowing information transfer for increased domain knowledge. The ROE-GA analysis is the preferred method to evaluate hyperspectral reflectance data and associate spectral changes to tassel emergence and the onset of pollen shed in corn on a field scale

Development of soft computing and applications in agricultural and biological engineering

Soft computing is a set of “inexact” computing techniques, which are able to model and analyze very complex problems. For these complex problems, more conventional methods have not been able to produce cost-effective, analytical, or complete solutions. Soft computing has been extensively studied and applied in the last three decades for scientific research and engineering computing. In agricultural and biological engineering, researchers and engineers have developed methods of fuzzy logic, artificial neural networks, genetic algorithms, decision trees, and support vector machines to study soil and water regimes related to crop growth, analyze the operation of food processing, and support decision-making in precision farming. This paper reviews the development of soft computing techniques. With the concepts and methods, applications of soft computing in the field of agricultural and biological engineering are presented, especially in the soil and water context for crop management and decision support in precision agriculture. The future of development and application of soft computing in agricultural and biological engineering is discussed

Genetic algorithms for Hyperspectral Range and Operator Selection

A novel genetic algorithm was developed using mathematical operations on spectral ranges to explore spectral operator space and to discover useful mathematical range operations for relating spectral data to reference parameters. For each range, the starting wavelength and length of the range, and a mathematical range operation were selected with a genetic algorithm. Partial least squares (PLS) regression was used to develop models predicting reference variables from the range operations. Reflectance spectra from corn plant canopies were investigated, with proportion of plants (1) with visible tassels and (2) starting to shed pollen as reference data. PLS models developed using the spectral range operator framework had similar fitness than PLS models developed using the full spectrum. This range/operator framework enabled identification of those spectral ranges with most predictive capability and which mathematical operators were most effective in using that predictive capability. Detection of operator locality may have utility in sensor and algorithm design and in developing breeding stock for other algorithms