GeoSay: A Geometric Saliency for Extracting Buildings in Remote Sensing Images

Automatic extraction of buildings in remote sensing images is an important but challenging task and finds many applications in different fields such as urban planning, navigation and so on. This paper addresses the problem of buildings extraction in very high-spatial-resolution (VHSR) remote sensing (RS) images, whose spatial resolution is often up to half meters and provides rich information about buildings. Based on the observation that buildings in VHSR-RS images are always more distinguishable in geometry than in texture or spectral domain, this paper proposes a geometric building index (GBI) for accurate building extraction, by computing the geometric saliency from VHSR-RS images. More precisely, given an image, the geometric saliency is derived from a mid-level geometric representations based on meaningful junctions that can locally describe geometrical structures of images. The resulting GBI is finally measured by integrating the derived geometric saliency of buildings. Experiments on three public and commonly used datasets demonstrate that the proposed GBI achieves the state-of-the-art performance and shows impressive generalization capability. Additionally, GBI preserves both the exact position and accurate shape of single buildings compared to existing methods

Multi-level Feature Fusion-based CNN for Local Climate Zone Classification from Sentinel-2 Images: Benchmark Results on the So2Sat LCZ42 Dataset

As a unique classification scheme for urban forms and functions, the local climate zone (LCZ) system provides essential general information for any studies related to urban environments, especially on a large scale. Remote sensing data-based classification approaches are the key to large-scale mapping and monitoring of LCZs. The potential of deep learning-based approaches is not yet fully explored, even though advanced convolutional neural networks (CNNs) continue to push the frontiers for various computer vision tasks. One reason is that published studies are based on different datasets, usually at a regional scale, which makes it impossible to fairly and consistently compare the potential of different CNNs for real-world scenarios. This study is based on the big So2Sat LCZ42 benchmark dataset dedicated to LCZ classification. Using this dataset, we studied a range of CNNs of varying sizes. In addition, we proposed a CNN to classify LCZs from Sentinel-2 images, Sen2LCZ-Net. Using this base network, we propose fusing multi-level features using the extended Sen2LCZ-Net-MF. With this proposed simple network architecture and the highly competitive benchmark dataset, we obtain results that are better than those obtained by the state-of-the-art CNNs, while requiring less computation with fewer layers and parameters. Large-scale LCZ classification examples of completely unseen areas are presented, demonstrating the potential of our proposed Sen2LCZ-Net-MF as well as the So2Sat LCZ42 dataset. We also intensively investigated the influence of network depth and width and the effectiveness of the design choices made for Sen2LCZ-Net-MF. Our work will provide important baselines for future CNN-based algorithm developments for both LCZ classification and other urban land cover land use classification

A Comprehensive Survey of Deep Learning in Remote Sensing: Theories, Tools and Challenges for the Community

In recent years, deep learning (DL), a re-branding of neural networks (NNs), has risen to the top in numerous areas, namely computer vision (CV), speech recognition, natural language processing, etc. Whereas remote sensing (RS) possesses a number of unique challenges, primarily related to sensors and applications, inevitably RS draws from many of the same theories as CV; e.g., statistics, fusion, and machine learning, to name a few. This means that the RS community should be aware of, if not at the leading edge of, of advancements like DL. Herein, we provide the most comprehensive survey of state-of-the-art RS DL research. We also review recent new developments in the DL field that can be used in DL for RS. Namely, we focus on theories, tools and challenges for the RS community. Specifically, we focus on unsolved challenges and opportunities as it relates to (i) inadequate data sets, (ii) human-understandable solutions for modelling physical phenomena, (iii) Big Data, (iv) non-traditional heterogeneous data sources, (v) DL architectures and learning algorithms for spectral, spatial and temporal data, (vi) transfer learning, (vii) an improved theoretical understanding of DL systems, (viii) high barriers to entry, and (ix) training and optimizing the DL.Comment: 64 pages, 411 references. To appear in Journal of Applied Remote Sensin

Multi-task deep learning for large-scale building detail extraction from high-resolution satellite imagery

Understanding urban dynamics and promoting sustainable development requires comprehensive insights about buildings. While geospatial artificial intelligence has advanced the extraction of such details from Earth observational data, existing methods often suffer from computational inefficiencies and inconsistencies when compiling unified building-related datasets for practical applications. To bridge this gap, we introduce the Multi-task Building Refiner (MT-BR), an adaptable neural network tailored for simultaneous extraction of spatial and attributional building details from high-resolution satellite imagery, exemplified by building rooftops, urban functional types, and roof architectural types. Notably, MT-BR can be fine-tuned to incorporate additional building details, extending its applicability. For large-scale applications, we devise a novel spatial sampling scheme that strategically selects limited but representative image samples. This process optimizes both the spatial distribution of samples and the urban environmental characteristics they contain, thus enhancing extraction effectiveness while curtailing data preparation expenditures. We further enhance MT-BR's predictive performance and generalization capabilities through the integration of advanced augmentation techniques. Our quantitative results highlight the efficacy of the proposed methods. Specifically, networks trained with datasets curated via our sampling method demonstrate improved predictive accuracy relative to those using alternative sampling approaches, with no alterations to network architecture. Moreover, MT-BR consistently outperforms other state-of-the-art methods in extracting building details across various metrics. The real-world practicality is also demonstrated in an application across Shanghai, generating a unified dataset that encompasses both the spatial and attributional details of buildings

Geoscience-aware deep learning:A new paradigm for remote sensing

Information extraction is a key activity for remote sensing images. A common distinction exists between knowledge-driven and data-driven methods. Knowledge-driven methods have advanced reasoning ability and interpretability, but have difficulty in handling complicated tasks since prior knowledge is usually limited when facing the highly complex spatial patterns and geoscience phenomena found in reality. Data-driven models, especially those emerging in machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL), have achieved substantial progress in geoscience and remote sensing applications. Although DL models have powerful feature learning and representation capabilities, traditional DL has inherent problems including working as a black box and generally requiring a large number of labeled training data. The focus of this paper is on methods that integrate domain knowledge, such as geoscience knowledge and geoscience features (GK/GFs), into the design of DL models. The paper introduces the new paradigm of geoscience-aware deep learning (GADL), in which GK/GFs and DL models are combined deeply to extract information from remote sensing data. It first provides a comprehensive summary of GK/GFs used in GADL, which forms the basis for subsequent integration of GK/GFs with DL models. This is followed by a taxonomy of approaches for integrating GK/GFs with DL models. Several approaches are detailed using illustrative examples. Challenges and research prospects in GADL are then discussed. Developing more novel and advanced methods in GADL is expected to become the prevailing trend in advancing remotely sensed information extraction in the future.</p

Application of Convolutional Neural Network in the Segmentation and Classification of High-Resolution Remote Sensing Images

Numerous convolution neural networks increase accuracy of classification for remote sensing scene images at the expense of the models space and time sophistication This causes the model to run slowly and prevents the realization of a trade-off among model accuracy and running time The loss of deep characteristics as the network gets deeper makes it impossible to retrieve the key aspects with a sample double branching structure which is bad for classifying remote sensing scene photo