An Optimal Unsupervised Satellite image Segmentation Approach Based on Pearson System and k-Means Clustering Algorithm Initialization

This paper presents an optimal and unsupervised satellite image segmentation approach based on Pearson system and k-Means Clustering Algorithm Initialization. Such method could be considered as original by the fact that it utilised K-Means clustering algorithm for an optimal initialisation of image class number on one hand and it exploited Pearson system for an optimal statistical distributions’ affectation of each considered class on the other hand. Satellite image exploitation requires the use of different approaches, especially those founded on the unsupervised statistical segmentation principle. Such approaches necessitate definition of several parameters like image class number, class variables’ estimation and generalised mixture distributions. Use of statistical images’ attributes assured convincing and promoting results under the condition of having an optimal initialisation step with appropriated statistical distributions’ affectation. Pearson system associated with a k-means clustering algorithm and Stochastic Expectation-Maximization ‘SEM’ algorithm could be adapted to such problem. For each image’s class, Pearson system attributes one distribution type according to different parameters and especially the Skewness ‘ 1’ and the kurtosis ‘ 2’. The different adapted algorithms, K-Means clustering algorithm, SEM algorithm and Pearson system algorithm, are then applied to satellite image segmentation problem. Efficiency of those combined algorithms was firstly validated with the Mean Quadratic Error ‘MQE’ evaluation, and secondly with visual inspection along several comparisons of these unsupervised images’ segmentation. Keywords—Unsupervised classification, Pearson system, Satellite image, Segmentation.