Classification under label noise based on outdated maps

Supervised classification of remotely sensed images is a classical method for change detection. The task requires training data in the form of image data with known class labels, whose manually generation is time-consuming. If the labels are acquired from the outdated map, the classifier must cope with errors in the training data. These errors, referred to as label noise, typically occur in clusters in object space, because they are caused by land cover changes over time. In this paper we adapt a label noise tolerant training technique for classification, so that the fact that changes affect larger clusters of pixels is considered. We also integrate the existing map into an iterative classification procedure to act as a prior in regions which are likely to contain changes. Our experiments are based on three test areas, using real images with simulated existing databases. Our results show that this method helps to distinguish between real changes over time and false detections caused by misclassification and thus improves the accuracy of the classification results. © 2017 Copernicus GmbH. All rights reserved