Dynamical spectral unmixing of multitemporal hyperspectral images

In this paper, we consider the problem of unmixing a time series of hyperspectral images. We propose a dynamical model based on linear mixing processes at each time instant. The spectral signatures and fractional abundances of the pure materials in the scene are seen as latent variables, and assumed to follow a general dynamical structure. Based on a simplified version of this model, we derive an efficient spectral unmixing algorithm to estimate the latent variables by performing alternating minimizations. The performance of the proposed approach is demonstrated on synthetic and real multitemporal hyperspectral images.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figure

Image Processing and Machine Learning for Hyperspectral Unmixing: An Overview and the HySUPP Python Package

Spectral pixels are often a mixture of the pure spectra of the materials, called endmembers, due to the low spatial resolution of hyperspectral sensors, double scattering, and intimate mixtures of materials in the scenes. Unmixing estimates the fractional abundances of the endmembers within the pixel. Depending on the prior knowledge of endmembers, linear unmixing can be divided into three main groups: supervised, semi-supervised, and unsupervised (blind) linear unmixing. Advances in Image processing and machine learning substantially affected unmixing. This paper provides an overview of advanced and conventional unmixing approaches. Additionally, we draw a critical comparison between advanced and conventional techniques from the three categories. We compare the performance of the unmixing techniques on three simulated and two real datasets. The experimental results reveal the advantages of different unmixing categories for different unmixing scenarios. Moreover, we provide an open-source Python-based package available at https://github.com/BehnoodRasti/HySUPP to reproduce the results

Regularization approaches to hyperspectral unmixing

We consider a few different approaches to hyperspectral unmixing of remotely sensed imagery which exploit and extend recent advances in sparse statistical regularization, handling of constraints and dictionary reduction. Hyperspectral unmixing methods often use a conventional least-squares based lasso which assumes that the data follows the Gaussian distribution, we use this as a starting point. In addition, we consider a robust approach to sparse spectral unmixing of remotely sensed imagery which reduces the sensitivity of the estimator to outliers. Due to water absorption and atmospheric effects that affect data collection, hyperspectral images are prone to have large outliers. The framework comprises of several well-principled penalties. A non-convex, hyper-Laplacian prior is incorporated to induce sparsity in the number of active pure spectral components, and total variation regularizer is included to exploit the spatial-contextual information of hyperspectral images. Enforcing the sum-to-one and non-negativity constraint on the models parameters is essential for obtaining realistic estimates. We consider two approaches to account for this: an iterative heuristic renormalization and projection onto the positive orthant, and a reparametrization of the coefficients which gives rise to a theoretically founded method. Since the large size of modern spectral libraries cannot only present computational challenges but also introduce collinearities between regressors, we introduce a library reduction step. This uses the multiple signal classi fication (MUSIC) array processing algorithm, which both speeds up unmixing and yields superior results in scenarios where the library size is extensive. We show that although these problems are non-convex, they can be solved by a properly de fined algorithm based on either trust region optimization or iteratively reweighted least squares. The performance of the different approaches is validated in several simulated and real hyperspectral data experiments

Hyperspectral unmixing: a theoretical aspect and applications to CRISM data processing

Hyperspectral imaging has been deployed in earth and planetary remote sensing, and has contributed the development of new methods for monitoring the earth environment and new discoveries in planetary science. It has given scientists and engineers a new way to observe the surface of earth and planetary bodies by measuring the spectroscopic spectrum at a pixel scale. Hyperspectal images require complex processing before practical use. One of the important goals of hyperspectral imaging is to obtain the images of reflectance spectrum. A raw image obtained by hyperspectral remote sensing usually undergoes conversion to a physical quantity representing the intensity of light energy, called radiance. In order to obtain the reflectance spectrum of surface, the contribution of atmosphere needs to be addressed and then divided by a spectrum of ``white reference.\u27\u27 Furthermore, the obtained reflectance spectra of image pixels are likely to be the mixtures of multiple species due to limited spatial resolution from orbits around planets. Hyperspectral unmixing is an attempt to unmix those pixels - to identify substantial components and estimate their fractional abundances. Hyperspectral unmixing has been widely explored in the literature, but there are still many aspects yet to be studied. The majority of research focuses on the development of methods to retrieve correct substantial components and accurate fractional abundances. Their theoretical aspects are rarely investigated. Chapter 2 will pursue a theoretical aspect of sparse unmixing, one of the hyperspectral unmixing problems and derive its theoretical conditions that guarantee the correct identification of substantial components. Hyperspectral unmixing can also be used for other stages of hyperspectral data processing. Chapter 3 explores the application of hyperspectral unmixing to the processing of hyperspectral image acquired by the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). In particular, new atmospheric correction and de-noising methods for the CRISM data that use a hyperspectral unmixing to model surface spectra, are introduced. The new methods remove most of the problematic systematic artifacts present in CRISM images and significantly improve signal quality. Chapter 4 investigates how hyperspectral images acquired from orbits can be combined with ground exploration. In the recent rush of the launch of many Martian ground rover missions, it is important to effectively integrate knowledge obtained by hyperspectral remote sensing from orbits into ground exploration for facilitating Martian exploration. In specific, this dissertation solves the problem of matching hyperspectral image pixels obtained by the CRISM with ground mega-pixel images acquired by the Mast Camera (Mastcam) installed on the Curiosity rover on Mars. A new systematic methodology to map the CRISM and Mastcam images onto high resolution surface topography is developed

Nonconvex Optimization Algorithms for Structured Matrix Estimation in Large-Scale Data Applications

Το πρόβλημα της εκτίμησης δομημένου πίνακα ανήκει στην κατηγορία των προβλημάτων εύρεσης αναπαραστάσεων χαμηλής διάστασης (low-dimensional embeddings) σε δεδομένα υψηλής διάστασης. Στις μέρες μας συναντάται σε μια πληθώρα εφαρμογών που σχετίζονται με τις ερευνητικές περιοχές της επεξεργασίας σήματος και της μηχανικής μάθησης. Στην παρούσα διατριβή προτείνονται νέοι μαθηματικοί φορμαλισμοί σε τρία διαφορετικά προβλήματα εκτίμησης δομημένων πινάκων από δεδομένα μεγάλης κλίμακας. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, μελετώνται τα ερευνητικά προβλήματα α) της εκτίμησης πίνακα που είναι ταυτόχρονα αραιός, χαμηλού βαθμού και μη-αρνητικός, β) της παραγοντοποίησης πίνακα χαμηλού βαθμού, και γ) της ακολουθιακής (online) εκτίμησης πίνακα υποχώρου (subspace matrix) χαμηλού βαθμού από ελλιπή δεδομένα. Για όλα τα προβλήματα αυτά προτείνονται καινoτόμοι και αποδοτικοί αλγόριθμοι βελτιστοποίησης (optimization algorithms). Βασική υπόθεση που υιοθετείται σε κάθε περίπτωση είναι πως τα δεδομένα έχουν παραχθεί με βάση ένα γραμμικό μοντέλο. Το σύνολο των προσεγγίσεων που ακολουθούνται χαρακτηρίζονται από μη-κυρτότητα. Όπως γίνεται φανερό στην παρούσα διατριβή, η ιδιότητα αυτή, παρά τις δυσκολίες που εισάγει στην θεωρητική τεκμηρίωση των προτεινόμενων μεθόδων (σε αντίθεση με τις κυρτές προσεγγίσεις στις οποίες η θεωρητική ανάλυση είναι σχετικά ευκολότερη), οδηγεί σε σημαντικά οφέλη όσον αφορά την απόδοσή τους σε πλήθος πραγματικών εφαρμογών. Για την εκτίμηση πίνακα που είναι ταυτόχρονα αραιός, χαμηλού βαθμού και μη-αρνητικός, προτείνονται στην παρούσα διατριβή τρεις νέοι αλγόριθμοι, από τους οποίους οι δύο πρώτοι ελαχιστοποιούν μια κοινή συνάρτηση κόστους και ο τρίτος μια ελαφρώς διαφορετική συνάρτηση κόστους. Κοινό χαρακτηριστικό και των δύο αυτών συναρτήσεων είναι ότι κατά βάση αποτελούνται από έναν όρο προσαρμογής στα δεδομένα και δύο όρους κανονικοποίησης, οι οποίοι χρησιμοποιούνται για την επιβολή αραιότητας και χαμηλού βαθμού, αντίστοιχα. Στην πρώτη περίπτωση αυτό επιτυγχάνεται με την αξιοποίηση του αθροίσματος της επανασταθμισμένης l1 νόρμας (reweighted l1 norm) και της επανασταθμισμένης πυρηνικής νόρμας (reweighted nuclear norm), οι οποίες ευθύνονται για το μη- κυρτό χαρακτήρα της προκύπτουσας συνάρτησης κόστους. Από τους δύο προτεινόμενους αλγορίθμους που ελαχιστοποιούν τη συνάρτηση αυτή, ο ένας ακολουθεί τη μέθοδο καθόδου σταδιακής εγγύτητας και ο άλλος βασίζεται στην πιο απαιτητική υπολογιστικά μέθοδο ADMM. Η δεύτερη συνάρτηση κόστους διαφοροποιείται σε σχέση με την πρώτη καθώς χρησιμοποιεί μια προσέγγιση παραγοντοποίησης για τη μοντελοποίηση του χαμηλού βαθμού του δομημένου πίνακα. Επιπλέον, λόγω της μη εκ των προτέρων γνώσης του πραγματικού βαθμού, ενσωματώνει έναν όρο επιβολής χαμηλού βαθμού, μέσω της μη- κυρτής έκφρασης που έχει προταθεί ως ένα άνω αυστηρό φράγμα της (κυρτής) πυρηνικής νόρμας (σ.σ. στο εξής θα αναφέρεται ως εναλλακτική μορφή της πυρηνικής νόρμας). Και στην περίπτωση αυτή, το πρόβλημα που προκύπτει είναι μη-κυρτό λόγω του φορμαλισμού του μέσω της παραγοντοποίησης πίνακα, ενώ η βελτιστοποίηση πραγματοποιείται εφαρμόζοντας μια υπολογιστικά αποδοτική μέθοδο καθόδου συνιστωσών ανά μπλοκ (block coordinate descent). Tο σύνολο των προτεινόμενων σχημάτων χρησιμοποιείται για τη μοντελοποίηση, με καινοτόμο τρόπο, του προβλήματος φασματικού διαχωρισμού υπερφασματικών εικόνων (ΥΦΕ). Όπως εξηγείται αναλυτικά, τόσο η αραιότητα όσο και ο χαμηλός βαθμός παρέχουν πολύτιμες ερμηνείες ορισμένων φυσικών χαρακτηριστικών των ΥΦΕ, όπως π.χ. η χωρική συσχέτιση. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, η αραιότητα και ο χαμηλός βαθμός μπορούν να υιοθετηθούν ως δομές στον πίνακα αφθονίας (abundance matrix - ο πίνακας που περιέχει τα ποσοστά παρουσίας των υλικών στην περιοχή που απεικονίζει κάθε εικονοστοιχείο). Τα σημαντικά πλεονεκτήματα που προσφέρουν οι προτεινόμενες τεχνικές, σε σχέση με ανταγωνιστικούς αλγορίθμους, αναδεικνύονται σε ένα πλήθος διαφορετικών πειραμάτων που πραγματοποιούνται τόσο σε συνθετικά όσο και σε αληθινά υπερφασματικά δεδομένα. Στο πλαίσιο της παραγοντοποίησης πίνακα χαμηλού βαθμού (low-rank matrix factorization) περιγράφονται στη διατριβή τέσσερις νέοι αλγόριθμοι, ο καθένας εκ των οποίων έχει σχεδιαστεί για μια διαφορετική έκφανση του συγκεκριμένου προβλήματος. Όλα τα προτεινόμενα σχήματα έχουν ένα κοινό χαρακτηριστικό: επιβάλλουν χαμηλό βαθμό στους πίνακες-παράγοντες καθώς και στο γινόμενό τους με την εισαγωγή ενός νέου όρου κανονικοποίησης. Ο όρος αυτός προκύπτει ως μια γενίκευση της εναλλακτικής έκφρασης της πυρηνικής νόρμας με τη μετατροπή της σε σταθμισμένη μορφή. Αξίζει να επισημανθεί πως με κατάλληλη επιλογή των πινάκων στάθμισης καταλήγουμε σε μια ειδική έκφραση της συγκεκριμένης νόρμας η οποία ανάγει την διαδικασία επιβολής χαμηλού βαθμού σε αυτή της από κοινού επιβολής αραιότητας στις στήλες των δύο πινάκων. Όπως αναδεικνύεται αναλυτικά, η ιδιότητα αυτή είναι πολύ χρήσιμη ιδιαιτέρως σε εφαρμογές διαχείρισης δεδομένων μεγάλης κλίμακας. Στα πλαίσια αυτά μελετώνται τρία πολύ σημαντικά προβλήματα στο πεδίο της μηχανικής μάθησης και συγκεκριμένα αυτά της αποθορυβοποίησης σήματος (denoising), πλήρωσης πίνακα (matrix completion) και παραγοντοποίησης μη-αρνητικού πίνακα (nonnegative matrix factorization). Χρησιμοποιώντας τη μέθοδο ελαχιστοποίησης άνω φραγμάτων συναρτήσεων διαδοχικών μπλοκ (block successive upper bound minimization) αναπτύσσονται τρεις νέοι επαναληπτικά σταθμισμένοι αλγόριθμοι τύπου Newton, οι οποίοι σχεδιάζονται κατάλληλα, λαμβάνοντας υπόψη τα ιδιαίτερα χαρακτηριστικά του εκάστοτε προβλήματος. Τέλος, παρουσιάζεται αλγόριθμος παραγοντοποίησης πίνακα ο οποίος έχει σχεδιαστεί πάνω στην προαναφερθείσα ιδέα επιβολής χαμηλού βαθμού, υποθέτοντας παράλληλα αραιότητα στον ένα πίνακα-παράγοντα. Η επαλήθευση της αποδοτικότητας όλων των αλγορίθμων που εισάγονται γίνεται με την εφαρμογή τους σε εκτεταμένα συνθετικά πειράματα, όπως επίσης και σε εφαρμογές πραγματικών δεδομένων μεγάλης κλίμακας π.χ. αποθορυβοποίηση ΥΦΕ, πλήρωση πινάκων από συστήματα συστάσεων (recommender systems) ταινιών, διαχωρισμός μουσικού σήματος και τέλος μη-επιβλεπόμενος φασματικός διαχωρισμός. Το τελευταίο πρόβλημα το οποίο διαπραγματεύεται η παρούσα διατριβή είναι αυτό της ακολουθιακής εκμάθησης υποχώρου χαμηλού βαθμού και της πλήρωσης πίνακα. Το πρόβλημα αυτό εδράζεται σε ένα διαφορετικό πλαίσιο μάθησης, την επονομαζόμενη ακολουθιακή μάθηση, η οποία αποτελεί μια πολύτιμη προσέγγιση σε εφαρμογές δεδομένων μεγάλης κλίμακας, αλλά και σε εφαρμογές που λαμβάνουν χώρα σε χρονικά μεταβαλλόμενα περιβάλλοντα. Στην παρούσα διατριβή προτείνονται δύο διαφορετικοί αλγόριθμοι, ένας μπεϋζιανός και ένας ντετερμινιστικός. Ο πρώτος αλγόριθμος προκύπτει από την εφαρμογή μιας καινοτόμου ακολουθιακής μεθόδου συμπερασμού βασισμένου σε μεταβολές. Αυτή η μέθοδος χρησιμοποιείται για την πραγματοποίηση προσεγγιστικού συμπερασμού στο προτεινόμενο ιεραρχικό μπεϋζιανό μοντέλο. Αξίζει να σημειωθεί πως το μοντέλο αυτό έχει σχεδιαστεί με κατάλληλο τρόπο έτσι ώστε να ενσωματώνει, σε πιθανοτικό πλαίσιο, την ίδια ιδέα επιβολής χαμηλού βαθμού που προτείνεται για το πρόβλημα παραγοντοποίησης πίνακα χαμηλού βαθμού, δηλαδή επιβάλλοντας από-κοινού αραιότητα στους πίνακες-παράγοντες. Ωστόσο, ακολουθώντας την πιθανοτική προσέγγιση, αυτό πραγματοποιείται επιβάλλοντας πολύ-επίπεδες a priori κατανομές Laplace στις στήλες τους. Ο αλγόριθμος που προκύπτει είναι πλήρως αυτοματοποιημένος, μιας και δεν απαιτεί τη ρύθμιση κάποιας παραμέτρου κανονικοποίησης. Ο δεύτερος αλγόριθμος προκύπτει από την ελαχιστοποίηση μιας κατάλληλα διαμορφωμένης συνάρτησης κόστους. Και στην περίπτωση αυτή, χρησιμοποιείται η προαναφερθείσα ιδέα επιβολής χαμηλού βαθμού (κατάλληλα τροποποιημένη έτσι ώστε να μπορεί να εφαρμοστεί στο ακολουθιακό πλαίσιο μάθησης). Ενδιαφέρον παρουσιάζει το γεγονός πως ο τελευταίος αλγόριθμος μπορεί να θεωρηθεί ως μια ντετερμινιστική εκδοχή του προαναφερθέντος πιθανοτικού αλγορίθμου. Τέλος, σημαντικό χαρακτηριστικό και των δύο αλγορίθμων είναι ότι δεν είναι απαραίτητη η εκ των προτέρων γνώση του βαθμού του πίνακα υποχώρου. Τα πλεονεκτήματα των προτεινόμενων προσεγγίσεων παρουσιάζονται σε ένα μεγάλο εύρος πειραμάτων που πραγματοποιήθηκαν σε συνθετικά δεδομένα, στο πρόβλημα της ακολουθιακής πλήρωσης ΥΦΕ και στην εκμάθηση ιδιο-προσώπων κάνοντας χρήση πραγματικών δεδομένων.Structured matrix estimation belongs to the family of learning tasks whose main goal is to reveal low-dimensional embeddings of high-dimensional data. Nowadays, this task appears in various forms in a plethora of signal processing and machine learning applications. In the present thesis, novel mathematical formulations for three different instances of structured matrix estimation are proposed. Concretely, the problems of a) simultaneously sparse, low-rank and nonnegative matrix estimation, b) low-rank matrix factorization and c) online low-rank subspace learning and matrix completion, are addressed and analyzed. In all cases, it is assumed that data are generated by a linear process, i.e., we deal with linear measurements. A suite of novel and efficient {\it optimization algorithms} amenable to handling {\it large-scale data} are presented. A key common feature of all the introduced schemes is {\it nonconvexity}. It should be noted that albeit nonconvexity complicates the derivation of theoretical guarantees (contrary to convex relevant approaches, which - in most cases - can be theoretically analyzed relatively easily), significant gains in terms of the estimation performance of the emerging algorithms have been recently witnessed in several real practical situations. Let us first focus on simultaneously sparse, low-rank and nonnegative matrix estimation from linear measurements. In the thesis this problem is resolved by three different optimization algorithms, which address two different and novel formulations of the relevant task. All the proposed schemes are suitably devised for minimizing a cost function consisting of a least-squares data fitting term and two regularization terms. The latter are utilized for promoting sparsity and low-rankness. The novelty of the first formulation lies in the use, for the first time in the literature, of the sum of the reweighted $\ell_1$ and the reweighted nuclear norms. The merits of reweighted $\ell_1$ and nuclear norms have been exposed in numerous sparse and low-rank matrix recovery problems. As is known, albeit these two norms induce nonconvexity in the resulting optimization problems, they provide a better approximation of the $\ell_0$ norm and the rank function, respectively, as compared to relevant convex regularizers. Herein, we aspire to benefit from the use of the combination of these two norms. The first algorithm is an incremental proximal minimization scheme, while the second one is an ADMM solver. The third algorithm's main goal is to further reduce the computational complexity. Towards this end, it deviates from the other two in the use of a matrix factorization based approach for modelling low-rankness. Since the rank of the sought matrix is generally unknown, a low-rank imposing term, i.e., the variational form of the nuclear norm, which is a function of the matrix factors, is utilized. In this case, the optimization process takes place via a block coordinate descent type scheme. The proposed formulations are utilized for modelling in a pioneering way a very important problem in hyperspectral image processing, that of hyperspectral image unmixing. It is shown that both sparsity and low-rank offer meaningful interpretations of inherent natural characteristics of hyperspectral images. More specifically, both sparsity and low-rankness are reasonable hypotheses that can be made for the so-called {\it abundance} matrix, i.e., the nonnegative matrix containing the fractions of presence of the different materials, called {\it endmembers}, at the region depicted by each pixel. The merits of the proposed algorithms over other state-of-the-art hyperspectral unmixing algorithms are corroborated in a wealth of simulated and real hyperspectral imaging data experiments. In the framework of low-rank matrix factorization (LRMF) four novel optimization algorithms are presented, each modelling a different instance of it. All the proposed schemes share a common thread: they impose low-rank on both matrix factors and the sought matrix by a newly introduced regularization term. This term can be considered as a generalized weighted version of the variational form of the nuclear norm. Notably, by appropriately selecting the weight matrix, low-rank enforcement amounts to imposing joint column sparsity on both matrix factors. This property is actually proven to be quite important in applications dealing with large-scale data, since it leads to a significant decrease of the induced computational complexity. Along these lines, three well-known machine learning tasks, namely, denoising, matrix completion and low-rank nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF), are redefined according to the new low-rank regularization approach. Then, following the block successive upper bound minimization framework, alternating iteratively reweighted least-squares, Newton-type algorithms are devised accounting for the particular characteristics of the problem that each time is addressed. Lastly, an additional low-rank and sparse NMF algorithm is proposed, which hinges upon the same low-rank promoting idea mentioned above, while also accounting for sparsity on one of the matrix factors. All the derived algorithms are tested on extensive simulated data experiments and real large-scale data applications such as hyperspectral image denoising, matrix completion for recommender systems, music signal decomposition and unsupervised hyperspectral image unmixing with unknown number of endmembers. The last problem that this thesis touches upon is online low-rank subspace learning and matrix completion. This task follows a different learning model, i.e., online learning, which offers a valuable processing framework when one deals with large-scale streaming data possibly under time-varying conditions. In the thesis, two different online algorithms are put forth. The first one stems from a newly developed online variational Bayes scheme. This is applied for performing approximate inference based on a carefully designed novel multi-hierarchical Bayesian model. Notably, the adopted model encompasses similar low-rank promoting ideas to those mentioned for LRMF. That is, low-rank is imposed via promoting jointly column sparsity on the columns of the matrix factors. However, following the Bayesian rationale, this now takes place by assigning Laplace-type marginal priors on the matrix factors. Going one step further, additional sparsity is independently modelled on the subspace matrix thus imposing multiple structures on the same matrix. The resulting algorithm is fully automated, i.e., it does not demand fine-tuning of any parameters. The second algorithm follows a cost function minimization based strategy. Again, the same low-rank promoting idea introduced for LRMF is incorporated in this problem via the use of a - modified to the online processing scenario - low-rank regularization term. Interestingly, the resulting optimization scheme can be considered as the deterministic analogue of the Bayesian one. Both the proposed algorithms present a favorable feature, i.e., they are competent to learn subspaces without requiring the a priori knowledge of their true rank. Their effectiveness is showcased in extensive simulated data experiments and in online hyperspectral image completion and eigenface learning using real data

Nonlinear hyperspectral unmixing: strategies for nonlinear mixture detection, endmember estimation and band-selection

Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Elétrica, Florianópolis, 2016.Abstract : Mixing phenomena in hyperspectral images depend on a variety of factors such as the resolution of observation devices, the properties of materials, and how these materials interact with incident light in the scene. Different parametric and nonparametric models have been considered to address hyperspectral unmixing problems. The simplest one is the linear mixing model. Nevertheless, it has been recognized that mixing phenomena can also be nonlinear. Kernel-based nonlinear mixing models have been applied to unmix spectral information of hyperspectral images when the type of mixing occurring in the scene is too complex or unknown. However, the corresponding nonlinear analysis techniques are necessarily more challenging and complex than those employed for linear unmixing. Within this context, it makes sense to search for different strategies to produce simpler and/or more accurate results. In this thesis, we tackle three distinct parts of the complete spectral unmixing (SU) problem. First, we propose a technique for detecting nonlinearly mixed pixels. The detection approach is based on the comparison of the reconstruction errors using both a Gaussian process regression model and a linear regression model. The two errors are combined into a detection test statistics for which a probability density function can be reasonably approximated. Second, we propose an iterative endmember extraction algorithm to be employed in combination with the detection algorithm. The proposed detect-then-unmix strategy, which consists of extracting endmembers, detecting nonlinearly mixed pixels and unmixing, is tested with synthetic and real images. Finally, we propose two methods for band selection (BS) in the reproducing kernel Hilbert space (RKHS), which lead to a significant reduction of the processing time required by nonlinear unmixing techniques. The first method employs the kernel k-means (KKM) algorithm to find clusters in the RKHS. Each cluster centroid is then associated to the closest mapped spectral vector. The second method is centralized, and it is based upon the coherence criterion, which sets the largest value allowed for correlations between the basis kernel functions characterizing the unmixing model. We show that the proposed BS approach is equivalent to solving a maximum clique problem (MCP), that is, to searching for the largest complete subgraph in a graph. Furthermore, we devise a strategy for selecting the coherence threshold and the Gaussian kernel bandwidth using coherence bounds for linearly independent bases. Simulation results illustrate the efficiency of the proposed method.Imagem hiperespectral (HI) é uma imagem em que cada pixel contém centenas (ou até milhares) de bandas estreitas e contíguas amostradas num amplo domínio do espectro eletromagnético. Sensores hiperespectrais normalmente trocam resolução espacial por resolução espectral devido principalmente a fatores como a distância entre o instrumento e a cena alvo, e limitada capacidade de processamento, transmissão e armazenamento históricas, mas que se tornam cada vez menos problemáticas. Este tipo de imagem encontra ampla utilização em uma gama de aplicações em astronomia, agricultura, imagens biomédicas, geociências, física, vigilância e sensoriamento remoto. A usual baixa resolução espacial de sensores espectrais implica que o que se observa em cada pixel é normalmente uma mistura das assinaturas espectrais dos materiais presentes na cena correspondente (normalmente denominados de endmembers). Assim um pixel em uma imagem hiperespectral não pode mais ser determinado por um tom ou cor mas sim por uma assinatura espectral do material, ou materiais, que se encontram na região analisada. O modelo mais simples e amplamente utilizado em aplicações com imagens hiperespectrais é o modelo linear, no qual o pixel observado é modelado como uma combinação linear dos endmembers. No entanto, fortes evidências de múltiplas reflexões da radiação solar e/ou materiais intimamente misturados, i.e., misturados em nível microscópico, resultam em diversos modelos não-lineares dos quais destacam-se os modelos bilineares, modelos de pós não-linearidade, modelos de mistura íntima e modelos não-paramétricos. Define-se então o problema de desmistura espectral (ou em inglês spectral unmixing - SU), que consiste em determinar as assinaturas espectrais dos endmembers puros presentes em uma cena e suas proporções (denominadas de abundâncias) para cada pixel da imagem. SU é um problema inverso e por natureza cego uma vez que raramente estão disponíveis informações confiáveis sobre o número de endmembers, suas assinaturas espectrais e suas distribuições em uma dada cena. Este problema possui forte conexão com o problema de separação cega de fontes mas difere no fato de que no problema de SU a independência de fontes não pode ser considerada já que as abundâncias são de fato proporções e por isso dependentes (abundâncias são positivas e devem somar 1). A determinação dos endmembers é conhecida como extração de endmembers e a literatura apresenta uma gama de algoritmos com esse propósito. Esses algoritmos normalmente exploram a geometria convexa resultante do modelo linear e da restrições sobre as abundâncias. Quando os endmembers são considerados conhecidos, ou estimados em um passo anterior, o problema de SU torna-se um problema supervisionado, com pares de entrada (endmembers) e saída (pixels), reduzindo-se a uma etapa de inversão, ou regressão, para determinar as proporções dos endmembers em cada pixel. Quando modelos não-lineares são considerados, a literatura apresenta diversas técnicas que podem ser empregadas dependendo da disponibilidade de informações sobre os endmembers e sobre os modelos que regem a interação entre a luz e os materiais numa dada cena. No entanto, informações sobre o tipo de mistura presente em cenas reais são raramente disponíveis. Nesse contexto, métodos kernelizados, que assumem modelos não-paramétricos, têm sido especialmente bem sucedidos quando aplicados ao problema de SU. Dentre esses métodos destaca-se o SK-Hype, que emprega a teoria de mínimos quadrados-máquinas de vetores de suporte (LS-SVM), numa abordagem que considera um modelo linear com uma flutuação não-linear representada por uma função pertencente a um espaço de Hilbert de kernel reprodutivos (RKHS). Nesta tese de doutoramento diferentes problemas foram abordados dentro do processo de SU de imagens hiperespectrais não-lineares como um todo. Contribuições foram dadas para a detecção de misturas não-lineares, estimação de endmembers quando uma parte considerável da imagem possui misturas não-lineares, e seleção de bandas no espaço de Hilbert de kernels reprodutivos (RKHS). Todos os métodos foram testados através de simulações com dados sintéticos e reais, e considerando unmixing supervisionado e não-supervisionado. No Capítulo 4, um método semi-paramétrico de detecção de misturas não-lineares é apresentado para imagens hiperespectrais. Esse detector compara a performance de dois modelos: um linear paramétrico, usando mínimos-quadrados (LS), e um não-linear não-paramétrico usando processos Gaussianos. A idéia da utilização de modelos não-paramétricos se conecta com o fato de que na prática pouco se sabe sobre a real natureza da não-linearidade presente na cena. Os erros de ajuste desses modelos são então comparados em uma estatística de teste para a qual é possível aproximar a distribuição na hipótese de misturas lineares e, assim, estimar um limiar de detecção para uma dada probabilidade de falso-alarme. A performance do detector proposto foi estudada considerando problemas supervisionados e não-supervisionados, sendo mostrado que a melhoria obtida no desempenho SU utilizando o detector proposto é estatisticamente consistente. Além disso, um grau de não-linearidade baseado nas energias relativas das contribuições lineares e não-lineares do processo de mistura foi definido para quantificar a importância das parcelas linear e não-linear dos modelos. Tal definição é importante para uma correta avaliação dos desempenhos relativos de diferentes estratégias de detecção de misturas não-lineares. No Capítulo 5 um algoritmo iterativo foi proposto para a estimação de endmembers como uma etapa de pré-processamento para problemas SU não supervisionados. Esse algoritmo intercala etapas de detecção de misturas não-lineares e estimação de endmembers de forma iterativa, na qual uma etapa de estimação de endmembers é seguida por uma etapa de detecção, na qual uma parcela dos pixels mais não-lineares é descartada. Esse processo é repetido por um número máximo de execuções ou até um critério de parada ser atingido. Demonstra-se que o uso combinado do detector proposto com um algoritmo de estimação de endmembers leva a melhores resultados de SU quando comparado com soluções do estado da arte. Simulações utilizando diferentes cenários corroboram as conclusões. No Capítulo 6 dois métodos para SU não-linear de imagens hiperespectrais, que empregam seleção de bandas (BS) diretamente no espaço de Hilbert de kernels reprodutivos (RKHS), são apresentados. O primeiro método utiliza o algoritmo Kernel K-Means (KKM) para encontrar clusters diretamente no RKHS onde cada centroide é então associada ao vetor espectral mais próximo. O segundo método é centralizado e baseado no critério de coerência, que incorpora uma medida da qualidade do dicionário no RKHS para a SU não-linear. Essa abordagem centralizada é equivalente a resolver um problema de máximo clique (MCP). Contrariamente a outros métodos concorrentes que não incluem uma escolha eficiente dos parâmetros do modelo, o método proposto requer apenas uma estimativa inicial do número de bandas selecionadas. Os resultados das simulações empregando dados, tanto sintéticos como reais, ilustram a qualidade dos resultados de unmixing obtidos com os métodos de BS propostos. Ao utilizar o SK-Hype, para um número reduzido de bandas, são obtidas estimativas de abundância tão precisas quanto aquelas obtidas utilizando o método SK-Hype com todo o espectro disponível, mas com uma pequena fração do custo computacional

Analyse hiérarchique d'images multimodales

There is a growing interest in the development of adapted processing tools for multimodal images (several images acquired over the same scene with different characteristics). Allowing a more complete description of the scene, multimodal images are of interest in various image processing fields, but their optimal handling and exploitation raise several issues. This thesis extends hierarchical representations, a powerful tool for classical image analysis and processing, to multimodal images in order to better exploit the additional information brought by the multimodality and improve classical image processing techniques. %when applied to real applications. This thesis focuses on three different multimodalities frequently encountered in the remote sensing field. We first investigate the spectral-spatial information of hyperspectral images. Based on an adapted construction and processing of the hierarchical representation, we derive a segmentation which is optimal with respect to the spectral unmixing operation. We then focus on the temporal multimodality and sequences of hyperspectral images. Using the hierarchical representation of the frames in the sequence, we propose a new method to achieve object tracking and apply it to chemical gas plume tracking in thermal infrared hyperspectral video sequences. Finally, we study the sensorial multimodality, being images acquired with different sensors. Relying on the concept of braids of partitions, we propose a novel methodology of image segmentation, based on an energetic minimization framework.Il y a un intérêt grandissant pour le développement d’outils de traitements adaptés aux images multimodales (plusieurs images de la même scène acquises avec différentes caractéristiques). Permettant une représentation plus complète de la scène, ces images multimodales ont de l'intérêt dans plusieurs domaines du traitement d'images, mais les exploiter et les manipuler de manière optimale soulève plusieurs questions. Cette thèse étend les représentations hiérarchiques, outil puissant pour le traitement et l’analyse d’images classiques, aux images multimodales afin de mieux exploiter l’information additionnelle apportée par la multimodalité et améliorer les techniques classiques de traitement d’images. Cette thèse se concentre sur trois différentes multimodalités fréquemment rencontrées dans le domaine de la télédétection. Nous examinons premièrement l’information spectrale-spatiale des images hyperspectrales. Une construction et un traitement adaptés de la représentation hiérarchique nous permettent de produire une carte de segmentation de l'image optimale vis-à-vis de l'opération de démélange spectrale. Nous nous concentrons ensuite sur la multimodalité temporelle, traitant des séquences d’images hyperspectrales. En utilisant les représentations hiérarchiques des différentes images de la séquence, nous proposons une nouvelle méthode pour effectuer du suivi d’objet et l’appliquons au suivi de nuages de gaz chimique dans des séquences d’images hyperspectrales dans le domaine thermique infrarouge. Finalement, nous étudions la multimodalité sensorielle, c’est-à-dire les images acquises par différents capteurs. Nous appuyant sur le concept des tresses de partitions, nous proposons une nouvelle méthodologie de segmentation se basant sur un cadre de minimisation d’énergie