A cost effective reference data sampling algorithm using fractal analysis

Abstract

A random sampling or systematic sampling method is commonly used to assess the accuracy of classification results. In remote sensing, with these sampling methods, much time and tedious work are required to acquire sufficient ground truth data. So, a more effective sampling method that can represent the characteristics of the population is required. In this study, fractal analysis is adopted as an index for reference sampling. The fractal dimensions of the whole study area and the sub-regions are calculated to select sub-regions that have the most similar dimensionality to that of the whole area. Then the whole area's classification accuracy is compared with those of sub-regions, and it is verified that the accuracies of selected sub-regions are similar to that of whole area. A new kind of reference sampling method using the above procedure is proposed. The results show that it is possible to reduce sampling area and sample size, while keeping the same level of accuracy as the existing methods.