A relative evaluation of multi-class image classification by support vector machines

Support vector machines (SVM) have considerable potential as classifiers of remotely sensed data. A constraint on their application in remote sensing has been their binary nature, requiring multi-class classifications to be based upon a large number of binary analyses. Here, an approach for multi-cl...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Foody, Giles M., Mathur, Ajay
Format: Article
Published: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 2004
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/1936/
_version_ 1848790688459653120
author Foody, Giles M.
Mathur, Ajay
author_facet Foody, Giles M.
Mathur, Ajay
author_sort Foody, Giles M.
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Support vector machines (SVM) have considerable potential as classifiers of remotely sensed data. A constraint on their application in remote sensing has been their binary nature, requiring multi-class classifications to be based upon a large number of binary analyses. Here, an approach for multi-class classification of airborne sensor data by a single SVM analysis is evaluated against a series of classifiers that are widely used in remote sensing, with particular regard to the effect of training set size on classification accuracy. In addition to the SVM, the same data sets were classified using a discriminant analysis, decision tree and multilayer perceptron neural network. The accuracy statements of the classifications derived from the different classifiers were compared in a statistically rigorous fashion that accommodated for the related nature of the samples used in the analyses. For each classification technique, accuracy was positively related with the size of the training set. In general, the most accurate classifications were derived from the SVM approach, and with the largest training set the SVM classification was significantly (p<0.05) more accurate (93.75%) than that derived from the discriminant analysis (90.00%) and decision tree algorithms (90.31%). Although each classifier could yield a very accurate classification, >90% correct, the classifiers differed in the ability to correctly label individual cases and so may be suitable candidates for an ensemble based approach to classification.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T18:16:35Z
format Article
id nottingham-1936
institution University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T18:16:35Z
publishDate 2004
publisher Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling nottingham-19362024-08-15T15:33:32Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/1936/ A relative evaluation of multi-class image classification by support vector machines Foody, Giles M. Mathur, Ajay Support vector machines (SVM) have considerable potential as classifiers of remotely sensed data. A constraint on their application in remote sensing has been their binary nature, requiring multi-class classifications to be based upon a large number of binary analyses. Here, an approach for multi-class classification of airborne sensor data by a single SVM analysis is evaluated against a series of classifiers that are widely used in remote sensing, with particular regard to the effect of training set size on classification accuracy. In addition to the SVM, the same data sets were classified using a discriminant analysis, decision tree and multilayer perceptron neural network. The accuracy statements of the classifications derived from the different classifiers were compared in a statistically rigorous fashion that accommodated for the related nature of the samples used in the analyses. For each classification technique, accuracy was positively related with the size of the training set. In general, the most accurate classifications were derived from the SVM approach, and with the largest training set the SVM classification was significantly (p<0.05) more accurate (93.75%) than that derived from the discriminant analysis (90.00%) and decision tree algorithms (90.31%). Although each classifier could yield a very accurate classification, >90% correct, the classifiers differed in the ability to correctly label individual cases and so may be suitable candidates for an ensemble based approach to classification. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 2004 Article PeerReviewed Foody, Giles M. and Mathur, Ajay (2004) A relative evaluation of multi-class image classification by support vector machines. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 42 (6). pp. 1335-1343. ISSN 0196-2892 http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?arnumber=1304900 doi:10.1109/TGRS.2004.827257 doi:10.1109/TGRS.2004.827257
spellingShingle Foody, Giles M.
Mathur, Ajay
A relative evaluation of multi-class image classification by support vector machines
title A relative evaluation of multi-class image classification by support vector machines
title_full A relative evaluation of multi-class image classification by support vector machines
title_fullStr A relative evaluation of multi-class image classification by support vector machines
title_full_unstemmed A relative evaluation of multi-class image classification by support vector machines
title_short A relative evaluation of multi-class image classification by support vector machines
title_sort relative evaluation of multi-class image classification by support vector machines
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/1936/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/1936/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/1936/