Automatic Spectral Rule-Based Preliminary Classification of Radiometrically Calibrated SPOT-4/-5/IRS, AVHRR/MSG, AATSR, IKONOS/QuickBird/OrbView/GeoEye, and DMC/SPOT-1/-2 Imagery - Part II: Classification Accuracy Assessment

In Part I of this paper, an operational fully automated Landsat-like image spectral rule-based decision-tree classifier (LSRC), suitable for mapping radiometrically calibrated sevenband Landsat-4/-5 Thematic Mapper (TM) and Landsat-7 Enhanced TM+ (ETM+) spaceborne images [eventually synthesized from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) imaging sensor] into a discrete and finite set of spectral categories, has been downscaled to properly deal with spaceborne multispectral imaging sensors whose spectral resolution overlaps with, but is inferior to Landsat’s, namely: 1) Satellite Pour l’Observation de la Terre (SPOT)-4/-5, Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS)-1C/-1D/-P6 Linear Imaging SelfScanner (LISS)-III, and IRS-P6 Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS); 2) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and Meteosat Second Generation (MSG); 3) Environmental Satellite (ENVISAT) Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR); 4) GeoEye-1, IKONOS-2, QuickBird-2, OrbView-3, TopSat, KOrean MultiPurpose SATellite (KOMPSAT)-2, FORMOsa SATellite (FORMOSAT)-2, Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) Advanced Visible and Near Infrared Radiometer type 2 (AVNIR-2), RapidEye, WorldView-2, PLEIADES-1/-2, and Manuscript received August 1, 2008; revised December 31, 2008 and July 1, 2009. First published December 4, 2009; current version published February 24, 2010. A. Baraldi was with the Joint Research Centre, European Commission, 21020 Ispra, Italy. He is now with Baraldi Consultancy in Remote Sensing, 40129 Bologna, Italy (e-mail: [email protected]). L. Durieux was with the Joint Research Centre, European Commission, 21020 Ispra, Italy. He is now with the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Maison de la Teledetection, 34093 Montpellier Cedex 05, France (e-mail: [email protected]). D. Simonetti is with the Global Environment Monitoring Unit, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Joint Research Centre, European Commission, 21020 Ispra, Italy (e-mail: [email protected]). G. Conchedda is with the European Commission, B-1049 Bruxelles, Belgium (e-mail: [email protected]). F. Holecz is with Sarmap s.a., Cascine di Barico, 6989 Purasca, Switzerland (e-mail: [email protected]). P. Blonda is with the Instituto di Studi sui Sistemi Intelligenti per I’Automazione, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, 70126 Bari, Italy (e-mail: [email protected]). Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org. Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TGRS.2009.2032064 SPOT-6/-7; and 5) Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC), IRS-P6 LISS-IV, and SPOT-1/-2. LSRC, together with its five downscaled versions, identified, respectively, as the four-band SPOT-like SRC (SSRC), the four-band AVHRR-like SRC (AVSRC), the five-band AATSR-like SRC (AASRC), the four-band IKONOS-like SRC (ISRC), and the three-band DMClike SRC (DSRC), form the so-called integrated SRC system of systems. In this paper, first, the classification accuracy and robustness to changes in the input data set of SSRC, AVSRC, AASRC, ISRC, and DSRC are assessed, both qualitatively and quantitatively, in comparison with LSRC’s. Next, ongoing and future SRC applications are presented and discussed. They encompass: 1) the implementation of operational two-stage stratified hierarchical Remote Sensing (RS) image understanding systems discussed in Part I of this paper; 2) the integration of near real-time satellite mapping services with Internet map servers; and 3) the development of a new approach to semantic querying of large-scale multisensor image databases. These experimental results and application examples prove that the integrated SRC system of systems is operational, namely, it is effective, near real-time, automatic, and robust to changes in the input data set. Therefore, SRC appears eligible for use in operational satellite-based measurement systems such as those envisaged by the ongoing international Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) Programme and the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) system project.