Very High Resolution Multiangle Urban Classification Analysis

The high-performance camera control systems carried aboard the DigitalGlobe WorldView satellites, WorldView-1 and WorldView-2, are capable of rapid retargeting and high off-nadir imagery collection. This provides the capability to collect dozens of multiangle very high spatial resolution images over a large target area during a single overflight. In addition, WorldView-2 collects eight bands of multispectral data. This paper discusses the improvements in urban classification accuracy available through utilization of the spatial and spectral information from a WorldView-2 multiangle image sequence collected over Atlanta, GA, in December 2009. Specifically, the implications of adding height data and multiangle multispectral reflectance, both derived from the multiangle sequence, to the textural, morphological, and spectral information of a single WorldView-2 image are investigated. The results show an improvement in classification accuracy of 27% and 14% for the spatial and spectral experiments, respectively. Additionally, the multiangle data set allows the differentiation of classes not typically well identified by a single image, such as skyscrapers and bridges as well as flat and pitched roofs.