Multispectral data analysis: LARSYS III

System uses pattern recognition and interactive data handling techniques applied to remotely sensed data. Basic analysis concept consists of locating data points which are believed to be representative of classes of interest

The application of remote sensing technology to the solution of problems in the management of resources in Indiana

In an effort to bridge the gap between the research community and the user agencies, this investigation was designed to take the remote sensing technology and products of that technology to the user agencies and to assist them in the use of this technology. The first semi-annual report summarizes the progress which has been made in the following specific projects: (1) pilot study for land use inventory of the Great Lakes Watershed; (2) resource inventory of Marion County (Indianapolis), Indiana; (3) resource inventory of 8 central Indiana counties for the Indiana Heartland Coordinating Commission; (4) applications within the Indiana Department of Natural Resources; (5) applications within the Indiana Department of Commerce; and (6) applications within the USDA Soil Conservation Service

Information systems and services, user services

The following topics were discussed: (1) data availability and distribution, (2) complete processing systems, (3) subsystems, (4) applications, (5) research for future technology, and (6) education, training opportunities, and materials. Evidence was given that remote sensing technology is being increasingly utilized. Therefore, it was concluded that a second stage of remote sensing technology should be developed

A study of the utilization of ERTS-1 data from the Wabash River Basin

The author has identified the following significant results. In soil association mapping, computerized analysis of ERTS-1 MSS data has yielded images which will prove useful in the ongoing Cooperative Soil Survey program, involving the Soil Conservation Service of USDA and other state and local agencies. In the present mode of operation, a soil survey for a county may take up to 5 years to be completed. Results indicate that a great deal of soils information can be extracted from ERTS-1 data by computer analysis. This information is expected to be very valuable in the premapping conference phase of a soil survey, resulting in more efficient field operations during the actual mapping. In the earth surface features mapping effort it was found that temporal data improved the classification accuracy of forest classification in Tippecanoe County, Indiana. In water resources study a severe scanner look angle effect was observed in the aircraft scanner data of a test lake which was not present in ERTS-1 data of the same site. This effect was greatly accentuated by surface roughness caused by strong winds. Quantitative evaluation of urban features classification in ERTS-1 data was obtained. An 87.1% test accuracy was obtained for eight categories in Marion County, Indiana

The application of remote sensing technology to the solution of problems in the management of resources in Indiana

The use of satellite remote sensing for resources management was investigated in Indiana. The technique was applied to strip mining and reclamation, highway planning, and the detection of dolomite reefs. A data base was created and used to produce land characteristics and suitability maps for land use planning. In addition, a three dimensional model was developed which provides a cross-sectional profile of the thermal plumes emitted by point sources of thermal pollution into rivers and lakes; this model may be used for the design and site selection of electric power plants

Analytical design of multispectral sensors

An optimal design based on the criterion of minimum mean square representation error using the Karhunen-Loeve expansion was developed to represent the spectral response functions from a stratum based upon a stochastic process scene model. From the overall pattern recognition system perspective, the effect of the representation accuracy on a typical performance criterion (the probability of correct classification) is investigated. The optimum sensor design provides a standard against which practical (suboptimum) operational sensors can be compared. An example design is provided and its performance is illustrated. Although developed primarily for the purpose of sensor design, the procedure has potential for making important contributions to scene understanding. Spectral channels which have narrow bandwidths relative to current sensor systems may be necessary to provide adequate spectral representation and improved classification performance

Predicting the required number of training samples

A criterion which measures the quality of the estimate of the covariance matrix of a multivariate normal distribution is developed. Based on this criterion, the necessary number of training samples is predicted. Experimental results which are used as a guide for determining the number of training samples are included

An empirical study of scanner system parameters

The selection of the current combination of parametric values (instantaneous field of view, number and location of spectral bands, signal-to-noise ratio, etc.) of a multispectral scanner is a complex problem due to the strong interrelationship these parameters have with one another. The study was done with the proposed scanner known as Thematic Mapper in mind. Since an adequate theoretical procedure for this problem has apparently not yet been devised, an empirical simulation approach was used with candidate parameter values selected by the heuristic means. The results obtained using a conventional maximum likelihood pixel classifier suggest that although the classification accuracy declines slightly as the IFOV is decreased this is more than made up by an improved mensuration accuracy. Further, the use of a classifier involving both spatial and spectral features shows a very substantial tendency to resist degradation as the signal-to-noise ratio is decreased. And finally, further evidence is provided of the importance of having at least one spectral band in each of the major available portions of the optical spectrum

Simulation techniques for estimating error in the classification of normal patterns

Methods of efficiently generating and classifying samples with specified multivariate normal distributions were discussed. Conservative confidence tables for sample sizes are given for selective sampling. Simulation results are compared with classified training data. Techniques for comparing error and separability measure for two normal patterns are investigated and used to display the relationship between the error and the Chernoff bound

Preliminary results on machine classification of soil associations in Collin County, Texas

There are no author-identified significant results in this report