Parallel Convolutional Neural Networks and Transfer Learning for Classifying Landforms in Satellite Images

Abstract

The use of remote sensing has great potential for detecting many natural differences, such as disasters, climate changes, and urban changes. Due to technological advances in imaging, remote sensing has become an increasingly popular topic. One of the significant benefits of technological advancement has been the ease with which remote sensing data is now accessible. Physical and spatial information is detected by remote sensing, which can be described as the process of identifying distinctive characteristics of an environment. Resolution is one of the most important factors influencing the success of the detection processes. As a result of the resolution being below the necessary level, features of the objects to be differentiated become incomprehensible and therefore constitute a significant barrier to differentiation. The use of deep learning methods for classifying remote sensing data has become prevalent and successful in recent years. This study classified Satellite images using deep learning and machine learning methods. Based on the transfer learning strategy, a parallel convolutional neural network (CNN) was designed in the study. To improve the feature mapping of an image, convolutional branches use pre-trained knowledge of the transmitted network. Using the offline augmentation method, the raw data set was balanced to overcome its unbalanced class distribution and increased network performance. A total of 35 classes of landforms have been studied in the experiments. The accuracy value of the developed model in the classification study of landforms was 97.84%. According to experimental results, the proposed method provides high classification accuracy in detecting landforms and outperforms existing studies.