Superpixel-Based Extended Random Walker for Hyperspectral Image Classification

Abstract

In this paper, a novel SuperPixel-based Extended Random Walker (SPERW) classification method for hyperspectral images is proposed that consists of three main steps. First, a multiscale segmentation algorithm is adopted to generate many superpixels, each of which represents a homogeneous region of adaptive shape and size. Then, a new weighted graph is constructed based on the superpixels in which the nodes correspond to the superpixels and the edges correspond to the links connecting two adjacent superpixels. Each edge has a weight that defines the similarity between the two superpixels. Second, a widely used pixelwise classifier, i.e., the support vector machine, is adopted to obtain classification probability maps for a hyperspectral image, which are then used to approximate the prior probabilities of the superpixels. Finally, the obtained prior probability maps of the superpixels are optimized by using the Extended Random Walker (ERW) algorithm, which encodes the spatial information both among and within the superpixels of the hyperspectral image in a weighted graph. Compared with the spectrum of a single pixel, the spectrum of a superpixel is more stable and less affected by noise; therefore, superpixels are more appropriate for adoption as the basic elements in the hyperspectral image classification. Because the spectral correlation between pixels within the same superpixel and the spatial correlation among adjacent superpixels are both well considered in the ERW-based global optimization framework, the proposed method shows high classification accuracy on four widely used real hyperspectral data sets even when the number of training samples is relatively small.