Construction and application of quality evaluation index system for remote-sensing image fusion

Abstract

To objectively and justly compare the results of remote-sensing image fusion, evaluate the fusion algorithm, and optimize the fusion process, a quality evaluation index system is constructed by considering both qualitative and quantitative evaluations. The quantitative evaluation indexes are divided into three types based on the analysis of evaluation methods of the fusion quality of primary remote-sensing images. The applicability and effectiveness of six pixel-level fusion methods of optical remote-sensing image fusion were verified based on the constructed quality evaluation index system used to evaluate those methods in offshore and archipelagic areas. The experimental results indicate that the constructed quality evaluation index system evaluates the fusion algorithm objectively, comprehensively, and accurately. The intensity–hue–saturation transformation-based method distorts spectral features of the original image and easily causes spectrum degradation, whereas the wavelet transformation-based method has an advantage in the preservation of spectral features but efficiently produces blockiness and image penumbrae. The principal component analysis transformation-based method preserves more detailed textures and structural characteristics of original images but loses some physical properties. The Brovey transformation-based method results in spectral distortion, the high pass filter-based method shows a clear boundary of surface features after image fusion, and the Gram–Schmidt-based method shows a high ability of spectral information retention, but the latter performs poorly in the preservation of spatial information. The proposed quality evaluation index system of remote-sensing image fusion can be used as the objective effect evaluation criteria for remote-sensing image fusion and offers a reference for future applications of fusion results.