Improving the Performance of a Hybrid Classification Method Using a Parallel Algorithm and a Novel Data Reduction Technique

• Main Author: Phillips, Rhonda D.
• Other Authors: Computer Science
• Format: Others
• Published: Virginia Tech 2014
• Subjects: Landsat; singular value decomposition; feature reduction; classification; data reduction
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10919/42680; http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-05162007-114856/

This thesis presents both a shared memory parallel version of the hybrid classification algorithm IGSCR (iterative guided spectral class rejection) and a novel data reduction technique that can be used in conjuction with pIGSCR (parallel IGSCR). The parallel algorithm is motivated by a demonstrated need for more computing power driven by the increasing size of remote sensing datasets due to higher resolution sensors, larger study regions, and the like. Even with a fast algorithm such as pIGSCR, the reduction of dimension in a dataset is desirable in order to decrease the processing time further and possibly improve overall classification accuracy. pIGSCR was developed to produce fast and portable code using Fortran 95, OpenMP, and the Hierarchical Data Format version 5 (HDF5) and accompanying data access library. The applicability of the faster pIGSCR algorithm is demonstrated by classifying Landsat data covering most of Virginia, USA into forest and non-forest classes with approximately 90 percent accuracy. Parallel results are given using the SGI Altix 3300 shared memory computer and the SGI Altix 3700 with as many as 64 processors reaching speedups of almost 77. This fast algorithm allows an analyst to perform and assess multiple classifications to refine parameters. As an example, pIGSCR was used for a factorial analysis consisting of 42 classifications of a 1.2 gigabyte image to select the number of initial classes (70) and class purity (70%) used for the remaining two images. A feature selection or reduction method may be appropriate for a specific lassification method depending on the properties and training required for the classification method, or an alternative band selection method may be derived based on the classification method itself. This thesis introduces a feature reduction method based on the singular value decomposition (SVD). This feature reduction technique was applied to training data from two multitemporal datasets of Landsat TM/ETM+ imagery acquired over a forested area in Virginia, USA and Rondonia, Brazil. Subsequent parallel iterative guided spectral class rejection (pIGSCR) forest/non-forest classifications were performed to determine the quality of the feature reduction. The classifications of the Virginia data were five times faster using SVD based feature reduction without affecting the classification accuracy. Feature reduction using the SVD was also compared to feature reduction using principal components analysis (PCA). The highest average accuracies for the Virginia dataset (88.34%) and for the Amazon dataset (93.31%) were achieved using the SVD. The results presented here indicate that SVD based feature reduction can produce statistically significantly better classifications than PCA. === Master of Science