Performance Evaluation of Machine Learning Algorithms for Urban Pattern Recognition from Multi-spectral Satellite Images

In this study, a classification and performance evaluation framework for the recognition of urban patterns in medium (Landsat ETM, TM and MSS) and very high resolution (WorldView-2, Quickbird, Ikonos) multi-spectral satellite images is presented. The study aims at exploring the potential of machine learning algorithms in the context of an object-based image analysis and to thoroughly test the algorithm’s performance under varying conditions to optimize their usage for urban pattern recognition tasks. Four classification algorithms, Normal Bayes, K Nearest Neighbors, Random Trees and Support Vector Machines, which represent different concepts in machine learning (probabilistic, nearest neighbor, tree-based, function-based), have been selected and implemented on a free and open-source basis. Particular focus is given to assess the generalization ability of machine learning algorithms and the transferability of trained learning machines between different image types and image scenes. Moreover, the influence of the number and choice of training data, the influence of the size and composition of the feature vector and the effect of image segmentation on the classification accuracy is evaluated