Slovenia is one of the most forested countries in Europe. Its forest management authorities need reliable information about the forest extent and state, as their responsibility lies in forest observation and preservation. Together with appropriate geographic information system mapping methods the remotely sensed data represent essential tool for an effective and sustainable forest management. Despite the large data availability, suitable mapping methods still present big challenge in terms of their speed which is often affected by the huge amount of data. The speed of the classification method could be maximised, if each of the steps in object-based classification was automated. However, automation is hard to achieve, since segmentation requires choosing optimum parameter values for optimal classification results. This paper focuses on the analysis of segmentation and classification performance and their correlation in a range of segmentation parameter values applied in the segmentation step. In order to find out which spatial resolution is still suitable for forest classification, forest classification accuracies obtained by using four images with different spatial resolutions were compared. Results of this study indicate that all high or very high spatial resolutions are suitable for optimal forest segmentation and classification, as long as appropriate scale and merge parameters combinations are used in the object-based classification. If computation interval includes all segmentation parameter combinations, all segmentation-classification correlations are spatial resolution independent and are high. If computation interval includes over- or optimal-segmentation parameter combinations, most segmentation-classification correlations are spatial resolution dependent.
COBISS.SI-ID: 39585325
The paper presents a completely automatic processing chain for orthorectification of optical pushbroom sensors. The procedure is robust and works without manual intervention from raw satellite image to orthoimage. It is modularly divided in four main steps: metadata extraction, automatic ground control point (GCP) extraction, geometric modeling, and orthorectification. The GCP extraction step uses georeferenced vector roads as a reference and produces a file with a list of points and their accuracy estimation. The physical geometric model is based on collinearity equations and works with sensor-corrected (level 1) optical satellite images. It models the sensor position and attitude with second-order piecewise polynomials depending on the acquisition time. The exterior orientation parameters are estimated in a least squares adjustment, employing random sample consensus and robust estimation algorithms for the removal of erroneous points and fine-tuning of the results. The images are finally orthorectified using a digital elevation model and positioned in a national coordinate system. The usability of the method is presented with three RapidEye images of regions with different terrain configurations. Several tests were carried out to verify the efficiency of the procedure and to make it more robust. Using the geometric model, subpixel accuracy on independent check points was achieved, and positional accuracy of orthoimages was around one pixel. The proposed procedure is general and can be easily adapted to various sensors.
COBISS.SI-ID: 38502189
In response to the increasing need for automatic and fast satellite image processing we have developed and implemented a fully automatic image processing chain STORM that performs all processing steps from sensor-corrected optical images (level 1) to web-delivered map-ready images and products without operator's intervention. Initial development was tailored to high resolution RapidEye images, and all crucial and most challenging parts of the planned full processing chain were developed: module for automatic image orthorectification based on a physical sensor model and supported by the algorithm for automatic detection of ground control points (GCPs); atmospheric correction module, topographic corrections module that combines physical approach with Minnaert method and utilizing anisotropic illumination model; and modules for high level products generation. Various parts of the chain were implemented also for WorldView-2, THEOS, Pleiades, SPOT 6, Landsat 5-8, and PROBA-V. The paper focuses on the adaptation of the STORM processing chain to very high resolution multispectral images. The development concentrated on the sub-module for automatic detection of GCPs. The initially implemented two-step algorithm that worked only with rasterized vector roads and delivered GCPs with sub-pixel accuracy for the RapidEye images, was improved with the introduction of a third step: super-fine positioning of each GCP based on a reference raster chip. The added step exploits the high spatial resolution of the reference raster to improve the final matching results and to achieve pixel accuracy also on very high resolution optical satellite data.
COBISS.SI-ID: 38464301