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At least 55 records · Page 3

Unsupervised classification and areal measurement of land and water coastal features on the Texas coast

Multispectral scanner (MSS) digital data from ERTS-1 was used to delineate coastal land, vegetative, and water features in two portions of the Texas Coastal Zone. Data (Scene ID's 1037-16244 and 1037-16251) acquired on August 29, 1972, were analyzed on NASA Johnson Space Center systems through the use of two clustering algorithms. Seventeen to 30 spectrally homogeneous classes were so defined. Many classes were identified as being pure features such as water masses, salt marsh, beaches, pine, hardwoods, and exposed soil or construction materials. Most classes were identified to be mixtures of the pure class types. Using an objective technique for measuring the percentage of wetland along salt marsh boundaries, an analysis was made of the accuracy of areal measurement of salt marshes. Accuracies ranged from 89 to 99 percent. Aircraft photography was used as the basis for determining the true areal size of salt marshes in the study sites.

Flores, L. M.↗

Optimal design of an unsupervised adaptive classifier with unknown priors

An adaptive detection scheme for M hypotheses was analyzed. It was assumed that the probability density function under each hypothesis was known, and that the prior probabilities of the M hypotheses were unknown and sequentially estimated. Each observation vector was classified using the current estimate of the prior probabilities. Using a set of nonlinear transformations, and applying stochastic approximation theory, an optimally converging adaptive detection and estimation scheme was designed. The optimality of the scheme lies in the fact that convergence to the true prior probabilities is ensured, and that the asymptotic error variance is minimum, for the class of nonlinear transformations considered. An expression for the asymptotic mean square error variance of the scheme was also obtained.

Kazakos, D.↗

The use of unsupervised clustering as a classifier for LACIE MSS data

The author has identified the following significant results. This classification method appears to give accurate field center results and to give practical, statistically consistent and accurate estimates of crop proportions. The accuracy of this method is attributable to certain qualities of the particular clustering algorithm. These qualities are freedom from assumptions about Gaussian data, and the continual updating of distribution estimates, including updating the number of modes. This method is relatively tolerant of errors in the determination of crop type, as crop identity is used only for identifying clusters, and not for computing signatures.

Pentland, A. P.↗

Analysis of multispectral data using an unsupervised classification technique: Application to VAS

A statistical classification method based on clustering of multidimensional histograms was applied to several channels of the VAS multispectral imagery. The method automatically discriminates and classifies atmospheric ground features such as cloud types, atmospheric moisture patterns, ocean, or ground. Such a clustering method has the advantage of forming natural data groupings, without a priori classification. Clusters are not limited by straight lines or plane surfaces as is the case in threshold methods. The method was applied to simultaneous full resolution images from channels 8 (11.2 micron), 10 (6.7 micron), and 12 (3.9 micron). Twenty image segments of 64 by 64, 12 image segments of 128 by 128, and 4 image segments of 254 by 254 picture elements were analyzed. In addition, normal VISSR mode images at 1800, 1830, and 2000 GMT were used to identify the classes. The gray levels measured along a scan line and the result of the classification scheme (dashed curves) for the three channels investigated are shown. Each point of the image is affected to a class. Each class is identified by a center of gravity that is represented by a vector in the three dimensional space of gray levels.

Szejwach, G.↗

Optimization of a Non-traditional Unsupervised Classification Approach for Land Cover Analysis

The conditions under which a hybrid of clustering and canonical analysis for image classification produce optimum results were analyzed. The approach involves generation of classes by clustering for input to canonical analysis. The importance of the number of clusters input and the effect of other parameters of the clustering algorithm (ISOCLS) were examined. The approach derives its final result by clustering the canonically transformed data. Therefore the importance of number of clusters requested in this final stage was also examined. The effect of these variables were studied in terms of the average separability (as measured by transformed divergence) of the final clusters, the transformation matrices resulting from different numbers of input classes, and the accuracy of the final classifications. The research was performed with LANDSAT MSS data over the Hazleton/Berwick Pennsylvania area. Final classifications were compared pixel by pixel with an existing geographic information system to provide an indication of their accuracy.

Boyd, R. K.↗

Unsupervised texture image segmentation by improved neural network ART2

We here propose a segmentation algorithm of texture image for a computer vision system on a space robot. An improved adaptive resonance theory (ART2) for analog input patterns is adapted to classify the image based on a set of texture image features extracted by a fast spatial gray level dependence method (SGLDM). The nonlinear thresholding functions in input layer of the neural network have been constructed by two parts: firstly, to reduce the effects of image noises on the features, a set of sigmoid functions is chosen depending on the types of the feature; secondly, to enhance the contrast of the features, we adopt fuzzy mapping functions. The cluster number in output layer can be increased by an autogrowing mechanism constantly when a new pattern happens. Experimental results and original or segmented pictures are shown, including the comparison between this approach and K-means algorithm. The system written in C language is performed on a SUN-4/330 sparc-station with an image board IT-150 and a CCD camera.

Wang, Zhiling↗

Multiresolutional schemata for unsupervised learning of autonomous robots for 3D space operation

This paper describes a novel approach to the development of a learning control system for autonomous space robot (ASR) which presents the ASR as a 'baby' -- that is, a system with no a priori knowledge of the world in which it operates, but with behavior acquisition techniques that allows it to build this knowledge from the experiences of actions within a particular environment (we will call it an Astro-baby). The learning techniques are rooted in the recursive algorithm for inductive generation of nested schemata molded from processes of early cognitive development in humans. The algorithm extracts data from the environment and by means of correlation and abduction, it creates schemata that are used for control. This system is robust enough to deal with a constantly changing environment because such changes provoke the creation of new schemata by generalizing from experiences, while still maintaining minimal computational complexity, thanks to the system's multiresolutional nature.

Lacaze, Alberto↗

An Introduction to Rockets - or - Never Leave Geeks Unsupervised

An introduction to rockets along with a brief history Newton's third law is presented. The contents include: 1) What is a Rocket?; 2) A Brief History; 3) Newton's Third Law; 4) A Brief History; 5) Mission Requirements; 6) Some Orbital Measurements; 7) Self Eating Watermelon; 8) Orbital Inclinations; 9) 28.5 Equatorial Orbit; 10) 51.6 Orbit (ISS); 11) Polar Orbit; 12) Geostationary Orbit; 13) Liquid Rocket; 13) Liquids vs. Solids; 14) Liquids; 15) Systems Integration; 16) Integration (NFL!); 17) Guidance Systems; 18) Vectored Thrust; 19) Spin Stabilization; 20) Aerodynamic Stability (Fire Arrows); and 21) Center of Gravity & Center of Pressure.

Mellett, Kevin↗

Parallel Implementation of the Recursive Approximation of an Unsupervised Hierarchical Segmentation Algorithm

The hierarchical image segmentation algorithm (referred to as HSEG) is a hybrid of hierarchical step-wise optimization (HSWO) and constrained spectral clustering that produces a hierarchical set of image segmentations. HSWO is an iterative approach to region grooving segmentation in which the optimal image segmentation is found at N(sub R) regions, given a segmentation at N(sub R+1) regions. HSEG's addition of constrained spectral clustering makes it a computationally intensive algorithm, for all but, the smallest of images. To counteract this, a computationally efficient recursive approximation of HSEG (called RHSEG) has been devised. Further improvements in processing speed are obtained through a parallel implementation of RHSEG. This chapter describes this parallel implementation and demonstrates its computational efficiency on a Landsat Thematic Mapper test scene.

Tilton, James C.↗

Unsupervised Framework to Monitor Lake Dynamics

A method of reducing processing time when assigning geographic areas to land cover labels using satellite sensor values includes a processor receiving a feature value for each pixel in a time series of frames of satellite sensor values, each frame containing multiple pixels and each frame covering a same geographic location. For each sub-area of the geographic location, the sub-area is assigned to one of at least three land cover labels. The processor determines a fraction function for a first sub-area assigned to a first land cover label. The sub-areas that were assigned to the first land cover label are reassigned to one of the second land cover label and the third land cover label based on the fraction functions of the sub-areas.

Boriah, Shyam↗

Unsupervised Spatio-Temporal Data Mining Framework for Burned Area Mapping

A method reduces processing time required to identify locations burned by fire by receiving a feature value for each pixel in an image, each pixel representing a sub-area of a location. Pixels are then grouped based on similarities of the feature values to form candidate burn events. For each candidate burn event, a probability that the candidate burn event is a true burn event is determined based on at least one further feature value for each pixel in the candidate burn event. Candidate burn events that have a probability below a threshold are removed from further consideration as burn events to produce a set of remaining candidate burn events.

Boriah, Shyam↗

Unsupervised Detection of Planetary Craters by a Marked Point Process

With the launch of several planetary missions in the last decade, a large amount of planetary images is being acquired. Preferably, automatic and robust processing techniques need to be used for data analysis because of the huge amount of the acquired data. Here, the aim is to achieve a robust and general methodology for crater detection. A novel technique based on a marked point process is proposed. First, the contours in the image are extracted. The object boundaries are modeled as a configuration of an unknown number of random ellipses, i.e., the contour image is considered as a realization of a marked point process. Then, an energy function is defined, containing both an a priori energy and a likelihood term. The global minimum of this function is estimated by using reversible jump Monte-Carlo Markov chain dynamics and a simulated annealing scheme. The main idea behind marked point processes is to model objects within a stochastic framework: Marked point processes represent a very promising current approach in the stochastic image modeling and provide a powerful and methodologically rigorous framework to efficiently map and detect objects and structures in an image with an excellent robustness to noise. The proposed method for crater detection has several feasible applications. One such application area is image registration by matching the extracted features.

Troglio, G.↗