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Convolutional neural networks (CNN) have shown great results for object-detection tasks by learning texture and pattern-extraction filters. However, object-level interactions are harder to grasp without increasing the complexity of the architectures. On the other hand, Point Process models propose to solve the detection of the configuration of objects as a whole, allowing the factoring in of the image data and the objects' prior interactions. In this paper, we propose combining the information extracted by a CNN with priors on objects within a Markov Marked Point Process framework. We also propose a method to learn the parameters of this Energy-Based Model. We apply this model to the detection of small vehicles in optical satellite imagery, where the image information needs to be complemented with object interaction priors because of noise and small object sizes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Les modèles de processus ponctuels marquès ont été appliqués avec succès pour l'extraction d'objets à partir d'images optiques de télédétection à haute résolution lors de la dernière décennie. Les modèles se composes typiquement de deux types de termes d'énergie : un terme de données qui reflète la fidélité des configurations à l'image d'entrée et un terme qui intègre des connaissances a priori sur les objets à extraire. Dans cet article, nous traitons le problème de l'extraction des bateaux dans des ports. C'est un problème difficile en raison de la répartition particulière des objets dans ce cas. Nous décrivons un modèle de processus ponctuel marquè à base d'ellipses développé auparavant, pour lequel nous déterminons automatiquement l'un de ses principaux paramètres. Nous présentons quelques-uns des inconvénients de ce modéle en raison des contraintes dures imposées, que nous relaxons ensuite pour rendre le nouveau modèle plus général. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we combine amplitude and texture statistics of the synthetic aperture radar images for the purpose of model-based classification. In a finite mixture model, we bring together the Nakagami densities to model the class amplitudes and a 2-D auto-regressive texture model with t-distributed regression error to model the textures of the classes. A non-stationary multinomial logistic latent class label model is used as a mixture density to obtain spatially smooth class segments. The classification expectation-maximization algorithm is performed to estimate the class parameters and to classify the pixels. We resort to integrated classification likelihood criterion to determine the number of classes in the model. We present our results on the classification of the land covers obtained in both supervised and unsupervised cases processing TerraSAR-X, as well as COSMO-SkyMed data. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the context of remotely sensed data analysis, an important problem is the development of accurate models for the statistics of the pixel intensities. Focusing on synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data, this modeling process turns out to be a crucial task, for instance, for classification or for denoising purposes. In this paper, an innovative parametric estimation methodology for SAR amplitude data is proposed that adopts a generalized Gaussian (GG) model for the complex SAR backscattered signal. A closed-form expression for the corresponding amplitude probability density function (PDF) is derived and a specific parameter estimation algorithm is developed in order to deal with the proposed model. Specifically, the recently proposed "method-of-log-cumulants" (M0LC) is applied, which stems from the adoption of the Mellin transform (instead of the usual Fourier transform) in the computation of characteristic functions and from the corresponding generalization of the concepts of moment and cumulant. For the developed GG-based amplitude model, the resulting MoLC estimates turn out to be numerically feasible and are also analytically proved to be consistent. The proposed parametric approach was validated by using several real ERS-1, XSAR, E-SAR, and NASA/JPL airborne SAR images, and the experimental results prove that the method models the amplitude PDF better than several previously proposed parametric models for backscattering phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In remotely sensed data analysis, a crucial problem is represented by the need to develop accurate models for the statistics of the pixel intensities. This paper deals with the problem of probability density function (pdf) estimation in the context of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) amplitude data analysis. Several theoretical and heuristic models for the pdfs of SAR data have been proposed in the literature, which have been proved to be effective for different land-cover typologies, thus making the choice of a single optimal parametric pdf a hard task, especially when dealing with heterogeneous SAR data. In this paper, an innovative estimation algorithm is described, which faces such a problem by adopting a finite mixture model for the amplitude pdf, with mixture components belonging to a given dictionary of SAR-specific pdfs. The proposed method automatically integrates the procedures of selection of the optimal model for each component, of parameter estimation, and of optimization of the number of components by combining the stochastic expectation-maximization iterative methodology with the recently developed "method-of-log-cumulants" for parametric pdf estimation in the case of nonnegative random variables. Experimental results on several real SAR images are reported, showing that the proposed method accurately models the statistics of SAR amplitude data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery has found important applications due to its clear advantages over optical satellite imagery one of them being able to operate in various weather conditions. However, due to the physics of the radar imaging process, SAR images contain unwanted artifacts in the form of a granular look which is called speckle. The assumptions of the classical SAR image generation model lead to a Rayleigh distribution model for the histogram of the SAR image. However, some experimental data such as images of urban areas show impulsive characteristics that correspond to underlying heavy-tailed distributions, which are clearly non-Rayleigh. Some alternative distributions have been suggested such as the Weibull, log-normal, and the k-distribution which had success in varying degrees depending on the application. Recently, an alternative model namely the α-stable distribution has been suggested for modeling radar clutter. In this paper, we show that the amplitude distribution of the complex wave, the real and the imaginery components of which are assumed to be distributed by the α-stable distribution, is a generalization of the Rayleigh distribution. We demonstrate that the amplitude distribution is a mixture of Rayleighs as is the k-distribution in accordance with earlier work on modeling SAR images high showed that almost all successful SAR image models could be expressed as mixtures of Rayleighs. We also present parameter estimation techniques based on negative order moments for the new model. Finally, we test the performance of the model on urban images and compare with other models such as Rayleigh, Weibull, and the k-distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this letter, we introduce a novel family of texture models which provide alternatives to texture models which are based on Gaussian distributions. In particular, we introduce linear textures generated with a member of the α-stable distribution family, which is a generalisation of the Gaussian distribution. The new family of texture models is capable of representing both impulsive and unsymmetric (skewed) image data which cannot be accommodated by the Gaussian model. We present new techniques for texture model estimation and we demonstrate the success of the techniques on synthetic data. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Presents a study that derived analytic expressions which demonstrated the phase correlation method which can be used in estimating subpixel shifts. Advantages of phase correlation method; Extension of the method to subpixel registration; Description of the method.

Discusses Markov random field image segmentation using cellular neural networks. Architecture of Markov random process; Solution for psuedostochastic image processing; Energy part related to doubletrons.

Investigates two important aspects of generalized sampling, the stability of the algorithm and the issue of performance. Review of the generalized sampling theory; Examples of stability analyzes to illustrate the aspect of the theory; Performance analysis; Conclusion.

Investigates the reconstruction of the continuous-time function problem, with reference to the m linear shift-invariant systems' responses. In-depth look at the responses; Details on input signals; Development of an algorithm for Papoulis' generalized sampling theory.

Ce papier présente un modèle de classification multi-résolution, multi-date et éventuellement multi-capteur fondé sur une modélisation statistique explicite au travers d'un modéle hiérarchique de champs de Markov construit sur une structure quad-arbre. L'approche proposée consiste en un classifieur bayésien supervisé qui combine un modèle statistique conditionnel par classe intégrant des informations pixel par pixel à la même résolution et un champ de Markov hiérarchique fusionnant l'information spatio-temporelle et multi-résolutions, en se basant sur le critère des Modes Marginales a Posteriori (MPM en anglais), qui vise à affecter à chaque pixel l'étiquette optimale en maximisant récursivement la probabilité marginale a posteriori, étant donné l'ensemble des observations multi-temporelles ou multi-capteur. Un nouvel élément intéressant de l'approche proposée est l'utilisation en cascade de plusieurs quad-arbres, chacun étant assocé à une nouvelle image disponible, en vue de caractériser les corrélations associées à des images distinctes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep learning (DL) is currently the dominant approach to image classification and segmentation, but the performances of DL methods are remarkably influenced by the quantity and quality of the ground truth (GT) used for training. In this article, a DL method is presented to deal with the semantic segmentation of very-high-resolution (VHR) remote-sensing data in the case of scarce GT. The main idea is to combine a specific type of deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs), namely fully convolutional networks (FCNs), with probabilistic graphical models (PGMs). Our method takes advantage of the intrinsic multiscale behavior of FCNs to deal with multiscale data representations and to connect them to a hierarchical Markov model (e.g., making use of a quadtree). As a consequence, the spatial information present in the data is better exploited, allowing a reduced sensitivity to GT incompleteness to be obtained. The marginal posterior mode (MPM) criterion is used for inference in the proposed framework. To assess the capabilities of the proposed method, the experimental validation is conducted with the ISPRS 2D Semantic Labeling Challenge datasets on the cities of Vaihingen and Potsdam, with some modifications to simulate the spatially sparse GTs that are common in real remote-sensing applications. The results are quite significant, as the proposed approach exhibits a higher producer accuracy than the standard FCNs considered and especially mitigates the impact of scarce GTs on minority classes and small spatial details. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Marked point processes provide a rigorous framework to describe a scene by an unordered set of objects. The efficiency of this modeling has been shown on line network extraction with models manipulating interacting segments. In this paper, we extend this previous modeling to polylines composed of an unknown number of segments. Optimization is done via simulated annealing using a Reversible Jump Markov Chain Monte Carlo (RJMCMC) algorithm. We accelerate the convergence of the algorithm by using appropriate proposal kernels. Results on aerial and satellite images show that this new model outperforms the previous one. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We present a new approach for building reconstruction from a single Digital Surface Model (DSM). It treats buildings as an assemblage of simple urban structures extracted from a library of 3D parametric blocks (like a LEGO set). First, the 2D-supports of the urban structures are extracted either interactively or automatically. Then, 3D-blocks are placed on the 2D-supports using a Gibbs model which controls both the block assemblage and the fitting to data. A Bayesian decision finds the optimal configuration of 3D-blocks using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampler associated with original proposition Kernels. This method has been validated on multiple data set in a wide-resolution interval such as 0.7 m satellite and 0.1 m aerial DSMs, and provides 3D representations on complex buildings and dense urban areas with various levels of detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper, we present an automatic building extraction method from Digital Elevation Models based on an object approach. First, a rough approximation of the building footprints is realized by a method based on marked point processes: the building footprints are modeled by rectangle layouts. Then, these rectangular footprints are regularized by improving the connection between the neighboring rectangles and detecting the roof height discontinuities. The obtained building footprints are structured footprints: each element represents a specific part of an urban structure. Results are finally applied to a 3D-city modeling process. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This work presents a framework for automatic feature extraction from images using stochastic geometry. Features in images are modeled as realizations of a spatial point process of geometrical shapes. This framework allows the incorporation of a priori knowledge on the spatial repartition of features. More specifically, we present a model based on the superposition of a process of segments and a process of rectangles. The former is dedicated to the detection of linear networks of discontinuities, whereas the latter aims at segmenting homogeneous areas. An energy is defined, favoring connections of segments, alignments of rectangles, and a relevant interaction between both types of objects. The estimation is performed by minimizing the energy using a simulated annealing algorithm. The proposed model is applied to the analysis of Digital Elevation Models (DEMs). These images are raster data representing the altimetry of a dense urban area. We present results on real data provided by the French National Geographic Institute (IGN) consisting in low-quality DEMs of various types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents an automatic algorithm for extracting vectorial land registers from altimetric data in dense urban areas. We focus on elementary shape extraction and propose a method that extracts rectangular buildings. The result is a vectorial land register that can be used, for instance, to perform precise roof shape estimation. Using a spatial point process framework, we model towns as configurations of and unknown number of rectangles. An energy is defined, which takes into account both low level information provided by the altimetry of the scene, and geometric knowledge about the disposition of buildings in towns. Estimation is done by minimizing the energy using simulated annealing. We use an MCMC sampler that is a combination of general Metropolis Hastings Green techniques and the Geyer and Møller algorithm for point process sampling. We define some original proposition kernels, such as birth or death in a neighborhood and define the energy with respect to an inhomogeneous Poisson point process. We present results on real data provided by the IGN (French National Geographic Institute). Results were obtained automatically. These results consist of configurations of rectangles describing a dense urban area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images are inherently affected by a signal dependent noise known as speckle, which is due to the radar wave coherence. In this paper, we propose a novel adaptive despeckling filter and derive a maximum a postenon (MAP) estimator for the radar cross section (RCS). We first employ a logarithmic transformation to change the multiplicative speckle into additive noise. We model the RCS using the recently introduced heavy-tailed Rayleigh density function, which was derived based on the assumption that the real and imaginary parts of the received complex signal are best described using the alpha-stable family of distribution. We estimate model parameters from noisy observations by means of second-kind statistics theory, which relies on the Mellin transform. Finally, we compare the proposed algorithm with several classical speckle filters applied on actual SAR images. Experimental results show that the homomorphic MAP filter based on the heavy-tailed Rayleigh prior for the RCS is among the best for speckle removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce a new class of active contour models that hold great promise for region and shape modelling, and we apply a special case of these models to the extraction of road networks from satellite and aerial imagery. The new models are arbitrary polynomial functionals on the space of boundaries, and thus greatly generalize the linear functionals used in classical contour energies. While classical energies are expressed as single integrals over the contour, the new energies incorporate multiple integrals, and thus describe long-range interactions between different sets of contour points. As prior terms, they describe families of contours that share complex geometric properties, without making reference to any particular shape, and they require no pose estimation. As likelihood terms, they can describe multi-point interactions between the contour and the data. To optimize the energies, we use a level set approach. The forces derived from the new energies are non-local however, thus necessitating an extension of standard level set methods. Networks are a shape family of great importance in a number of applications, including remote sensing imagery. To model them, we make a particular choice of prior quadratic energy that describes reticulated structures, and augment it with a likelihood term that couples the data at pairs of contour points to their joint geometry. Promising experimental results are shown on real images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the problem of unsupervised extraction of line networks (for example, road or hydrographic networks) from remotely sensed images. We model the target line network by an object process, where the objects correspond to interacting line segments. The prior model, called "Quality Candy," is designed to exploit as fully as possible the topological properties of the network under consideration, while the radiometric properties of the network are modeled using a data term based on statistical tests. Two techniques are used to compute this term: one is more accurate, the other more efficient. A calibration technique is used to choose the model parameters. Optimization is done via simulated annealing using a Reversible Jump Markov Chain Monte Carlo (RJMCMC) algorithm. We accelerate convergence of the algorithm by using appropriate proposal kernels. The results obtained on satellite and aerial images are quantitatively evaluated with respect to manual extractions. A comparison with the results obtained using a previous model, called the "Candy" model, shows the interest of adding quality coefficients with respect to interactions in the prior density. The relevance of using an offline computation of the data potential is shown, in particular, when a proposal kernel based on this computation is added in the RJMCMC algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most remote sensing images exhibit a clear hierarchical structure which can be taken into account by defining a suitable model for the unknown segmentation map. To this end, one can resort to the tree-structured Markov random field (MRF) model, which describes a K-ary field by means of a sequence of binary MRFs, each one corresponding to a node in the tree. Here we propose to use the tree-structured MRF model for supervised segmentation. The prior knowledge on the number of classes and their statistical features allows us to generalize the model so that the binary MRFs associated with the nodes can be adapted freely, together with their local parameters, to better fit the data. In addition, it allows us to define a suitable likelihood term to be coupled with the TS-MRF prior so as to obtain a precise global model of the image. Given the complete model, a recursive supervised segmentation algorithm is easily defined. Experiments on a test SPOT image prove the superior performance of the proposed algorithm with respect to other comparable MRF-based or variational algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we propose a new method for the extraction of roads from remotely sensed images. Under the assumption that roads form a thin network in the image, we approximate such a network by connected line segments. To perform this task, we construct a point process able to simulate and detect thin networks. The segments have to be connected, in order to form a line-network. Aligned segments are favored whereas superposition is penalized. These constraints are enforced by the interaction model (called the Candy model). The specific properties of the road network in the image are described by the data term. This term is based on statistical hypothesis tests. The proposed probabilistic model can be written within a Gibbs point process framework. The estimate for the network is found by minimizing an energy function. In order to avoid local minima, we use a simulated annealing algorithm, based on a Monte Carlo dynamics (RJMCMC) for finite point processes. Results are shown on SPOT, ERS and aerial images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deconvolution of blurred and noisy satellite images is an ill-posed inverse problem, which can be regularized within a Bayesian context by using an a priori model of the reconstructed solution. Since real satellite data show spatially variant characteristics, we propose here to use an inhomogeneous model. We use the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) to estimate its parameters and we show that the MLE computed on the corrupted image is not suitable for image deconvolution because it is not robust to noise. We then show that the estimation is correct only if it is made from the original image. Since this image is unknown, we need to compute an approximation of sufficiently good quality to provide useful estimation results. Such an approximation is provided by a wavelet-based deconvolution algorithm. Thus, a hybrid method is first used to estimate the space-variant parameters from this image and then to compute the regularized solution. The obtained results on high resolution satellite images simultaneously exhibit sharp edges, correctly restored textures, and a high SNR in homogeneous areas, since the proposed technique adapts to the local characteristics of the data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we propose a new method to locally register cartographic road networks on SPOT satellite images. This approach is based on Markov random fields (MRF) on graphs. Since the cartographic and image data are obtained from different sources, the noises degrading these data are of different nature. Cartographers also introduce, in the generalization process, distortions in the road map in order to emphasize some details of the road. This can create important differences between the map data and the ground truth. The proposed algorithm aims at correcting the error due to noise and generalization, hence increasing the accuracy of the road map. The first step of the method is to translate the road network into a graph where the nodes are characteristic points of the roads (e.g., crossroads). The random variable or descriptors are defined by the nodes position. The edges are defined by the roads joining these points. Then, local registration is performed by defining a model in a Bayesian framework. The solution is obtained by computing the maximum a posteriori (MAP). The posterior probability is assumed to be a product of two probabilities, the prior of the network and the likelihood of the map, each depending on the image data. Both are Markov Random Field probabilities. The likelihood of the registered map is the probability of a network configuration given the map data. It is a measure of a global resemblance between the two. We use geometrical measures, euclidean distances and angles, to build this probability. The prior consists of two terms, both depending on the image data. The dependance exists through the fact that between two connected nodes, we compute a best path, thanks to a dynamic programing algorithm, minimizing a cost function based on image gray levels, curvature and gradient information. The first term of the prior penalizes configurations for which different roads overlap each other, and the second term depends on gray level statistics along these paths. We run a simulated annealing algorithm to optimize the proposed model. The tests are done on one real image data extracted from SPOT satellite images, and artificially noisy cartographic data (translated, rotated or randomly deformed network). We present some results showing a good global registration, but also accurate correction of local distortions [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper, we propose a novel method for the joint classification of both multidate and multiresolution remote sensing imagery, which represents an important and relatively unexplored classification problem. The proposed classifier is based on an explicit hierarchical graph-based model that is sufficiently flexible to address a coregistered time series of images collected at different spatial resolutions. Within this framework, a novel element of the proposed approach is the use of multiple quadtrees in cascade, each associated with the images available at each observation date in the considered time series. For each date, the input images are inserted in a hierarchical structure on the basis of their resolutions, whereas missing levels are filled in with wavelet transforms of the images embedded in finer-resolution levels. This approach is aimed at both exploiting multiscale information, which is known to play a crucial role in high-resolution image analysis, and supporting input images acquired at different resolutions in the input time series. The experimental results are shown for multitemporal and multiresolution optical data. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The accurate statistical modeling of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images is a crucial problem in the context of effective SAR image processing, interpretation, and application. In this paper, a semi-parametric approach is designed within the framework of finite mixture models based on the generalized Gamma distribution in view of its flexibility and compact form. Specifically, we develop a generalized Gamma mixture model to implement an effective statistical analysis of high-resolution SAR images and prove the identifiability of such mixtures. A low-complexity unsupervised estimation method is derived by combining the proposed histogram-based expectation–conditional maximization algorithm and the Figueiredo–Jain algorithm. This results in a numerical maximum-likelihood (ML) estimator that can simultaneously determine the ML estimates of component parameters and the optimal number of mixture components. Finally, the state-of-the-art performance of this proposed method is verified by experiments with a wide range of high-resolution SAR images. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, we give a comparative study on three Multilayer Markov Random Field (MRF) based solutions proposed for change detection in optical remote sensing images, called Multicue MRF , Conditional Mixed Markov model, and Fusion MRF . Our purposes are twofold. On one hand , we highlight the significance of the focused model family and we set them against various state-of-the-art approaches through a thematic analysis and quantitative tests. We discuss the advantages and drawbacks of class comparison vs. direct approaches, usage of training data, various targeted application fields and different ways of Ground Truth generation, meantime informing the Reader in which roles the Multilayer MRFs can be efficiently applied. On the other hand we also emphasize the differences between the three focused models at various levels, considering the model structures, feature extraction, layer interpretation, change concept definition, parameter tuning and performance. We provide qualitative and quantitative comparison results using principally a publicly available change detection database which contains aerial image pairs and Ground Truth change masks. We conclude that the discussed models are competitive against alternative state-of-the-art solutions, if one uses them as pre-processing filters in multitemporal optical image analysis. In addition, they cover together a large range of applications, considering the different usage options of the three approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we develop a novel classification approach for multiresolution, multisensor [optical and synthetic aperture radar (SAR)], and/or multiband images. This challenging image processing problem is of great importance for various remote sensing monitoring applications and has been scarcely addressed so far. To deal with this classification problem, we propose a two-step explicit statistical model. We first design a model for the multivariate joint class-conditional statistics of the coregistered input images at each resolution by resorting to multivariate copulas. Such copulas combine the class-conditional marginal probability density functions (pdfs) of each input channel that are estimated by finite mixtures of well-chosen parametric families. We consider different distribution families for the most common types of remote sensing imagery acquired by optical and SAR sensors. We then plug the estimated joint pdfs into a hierarchical Markovian model based on a quad-tree structure, where each tree-scale corresponds to the different input image resolutions and to corresponding multiscale decimated wavelet transforms, thus preventing a strong resampling of the initial images. To obtain the classification map, we resort to an exact estimator of the marginal posterior mode. We integrate a prior update in this model in order to improve the robustness of the developed classifier against noise and speckle. The resulting classification performance is illustrated on several remote sensing multiresolution data sets, including very high resolution and multisensor images acquired by COSMO-SkyMed and GeoEye-1. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Parameter estimation of probability density functions is one of the major steps in the area of statistical image and signal processing. In this paper we explore several properties and limitations of the recently proposed method of logarithmic cumulants (MoLC) parameter estimation approach which is an alternative to the classical maximum likelihood (ML) and method of moments (MoM) approaches. We derive the general sufficient condition for a strong consistency of the MoLC estimates which represents an important asymptotic property of any statistical estimator. This result enables the demonstration of the strong consistency of MoLC estimates for a selection of widely used distribution families originating from (but not restricted to) synthetic aperture radar image processing. We then derive the analytical conditions of applicability of MoLC to samples for the distribution families in our selection. Finally, we conduct various synthetic and real data experiments to assess the comparative properties, applicability and small sample performance of MoLC notably for the generalized gamma and K families of distributions. Supervised image classification experiments are considered for medical ultrasound and remote-sensing SAR imagery. The obtained results suggest that MoLC is a feasible and computationally fast yet not universally applicable alternative to MoM. MoLC becomes especially useful when the direct ML approach turns out to be unfeasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we introduce a new probabilistic method which integrates building extraction with change detection in remotely sensed image pairs. A global optimization process attempts to find the optimal configuration of buildings, considering the observed data, prior knowledge, and interactions between the neighboring building parts. We present methodological contributions in three key issues: 1) We implement a novel object-change modeling approach based on Multitemporal Marked Point Processes, which simultaneously exploits low-level change information between the time layers and object-level building description to recognize and separate changed and unaltered buildings. 2) To answer the challenges of data heterogeneity in aerial and satellite image repositories, we construct a flexible hierarchical framework which can create various building appearance models from different elementary feature-based modules. 3) To simultaneously ensure the convergence, optimality, and computation complexity constraints raised by the increased data quantity, we adopt the quick Multiple Birth and Death optimization technique for change detection purposes, and propose a novel nonuniform stochastic object birth process which generates relevant objects with higher probability based on low-level image features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the segmentation from an image of entities that have the form of a ‘network’, i.e. the region in the image corresponding to the entity is composed of branches joining together at junctions, e.g. road or vascular networks. We present new phase field higher-order active contour (HOAC) prior models for network regions, and apply them to the segmentation of road networks from very high resolution satellite images. This is a hard problem for two reasons. First, the images are complex, with much ‘noise’ in the road region due to cars, road markings, etc., while the background is very varied, containing many features that are locally similar to roads. Second, network regions are complex to model, because they may have arbitrary topology. In particular, we address a limitation of a previous model in which network branch width was constrained to be similar to maximum network branch radius of curvature, thereby providing a poor model of networks with straight narrow branches or highly curved, wide branches. We solve this problem by introducing first an additional nonlinear nonlocal HOAC term, and then an additional linear nonlocal HOAC term to improve the computational speed. Both terms allow separate control of branch width and branch curvature, and furnish better prolongation for the same width, but the linear term has several advantages: it is more efficient, and it is able to model multiple widths simultaneously. To cope with the difficulty of parameter selection for these models, we perform a stability analysis of a long bar with a given width, and hence show how to choose the parameters of the energy functions. After adding a likelihood energy, we use both models to extract the road network quasi-automatically from pieces of a QuickBird image, and compare the results to other models in the literature. The state-of-the-art results obtained demonstrate the superiority of our new models, the importance of strong prior knowledge in general, and of the new terms in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a new Bayesian method for detecting the regions of object displacements in aerial image pairs. We use a robust but coarse 2-D image registration algorithm. Our main challenge is to eliminate the registration errors from the extracted change map. We introduce a three-layer Markov random field (L3MRF) model which integrates information from two different features, and ensures connected homogenous regions in the segmented images. Validation is given on real aerial photos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a novel multiscale texture model and a related algorithm for the unsupervised segmentation of color images. Elementary textures are characterized by their spatial interactions with neighboring regions along selected directions. Such interactions are modeled, in turn, by means of set of Markov chains, one for each direction, whose parameters are collected in a feature vector that synthetically describes the texture. Based on the feature vectors, the texture are then recursively merged, giving rise to larger and more complex textures, which appear at different scales of observation: accordingly, the model is named Hierarchical Multiple Markov Chain (H-MMC). The Texture Fragmentation and Reconstruction (TFR) algorithm, addresses the unsupervised segmentation problem based on the H-MMC model. The "fragmentation" step allows one to find the elementary textures of the model, while the "reconstruction" step defines the hierarchical image segmentation based on a probabilistic measure (texture score) which takes into account both region scale and inter-region interactions. The performance of the proposed method was assessed through the Prague segmentation benchmark, based on mosaics of real natural textures, and also tested on real-world natural and remote sensing images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Texture analysis has been widely investigated in the monospectral and multispectral imagery domains. At the same time, new image sensors with a large number of bands (more than ten) have been designed. They are able to provide images with both fine spectral and spatial sampling, and are called hyperspectral images. The aim of this work is to perform a joint texture analysis in both discrete spaces. To achieve this goal, we propose a probabilistic vector texture model, using a Gauss-Markov random field (MRF). The MRF parameters allow the characterization of different hyperspectral textures. A possible application of this work is the classification of urban areas. These areas are not well characterized by radiometry atone, and so we use the MRF parameters as new features in a maximum-likelihood classification algorithm. The results obtained on Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer hyperspectral images demonstrate that a better classification is achieved when texture information is included in the analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proposes a reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm for object processes in image processing. Background on image processing models; Description of the object process model; Derivation of the algorithm.

In this paper, a hierarchical probabilistic graphical model is proposed to tackle joint classification of multiresolution and multisensor remote sensing images of the same scene. This problem is crucial in the study of satellite imagery and jointly involves multiresolution and multisensor image fusion. The proposed framework consists of a hierarchical Markov model with a quadtree structure to model information contained in different spatial scales, a planar Markov model to account for contextual spatial information at each resolution, and decision tree ensembles for pixelwise modeling. This probabilistic graphical model and its topology are especially fit for application to very high resolution (VHR) image data. The theoretical properties of the proposed model are analyzed: the causality of the whole framework is mathematically proved, granting the use of time-efficient inference algorithms such as the marginal posterior mode criterion, which is non-iterative when applied to quadtree structures. This is mostly advantageous for classification methods linked to multiresolution tasks formulated on hierarchical Markov models. Within the proposed framework, two multimodal classification algorithms are developed, that incorporate Markov mesh and spatial Markov chain concepts. The results obtained in the experimental validation conducted with two datasets containing VHR multispectral, panchromatic, and radar satellite images, verify the effectiveness of the proposed framework. The proposed approach is also compared to previous methods that are based on alternate strategies for multimodal fusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduces a series of articles on energy minimization methods in computer vision and pattern recognition. Optimization using semidefinite programming relaxations; Method for manipulating interacting contours or snakes in the face recognition domain; Multiresolution approach from shading using simulated annealing.

Editorial. Points out that this issue of "IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence" contains the second special section of papers on energy minimization methods in computer vision and pattern recognition. Energy functions which can be minimized via graph cuts; Unsupervised learning of an Atlas from unbalanced point-sets; Segmentation given partial grouping constraints.