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Michael L Humber - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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probability sampling protocol for thematic and Spatial Quality assessment of classification maps generated from spaceborne airborne very high resolution images
IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 2014Co-Authors: Andrea Baraldi, Luigi Boschetti, Michael L HumberAbstract:To deliver sample estimates provided with the necessary probability foundation to permit generalization from the sample data subset to the whole target population being sampled, probability sampling strategies are required to satisfy three necessary not sufficient conditions: 1) All inclusion probabilities be greater than zero in the target population to be sampled. If some sampling units have an inclusion probability of zero, then a map accuracy assessment does not represent the entire target region depicted in the map to be assessed. 2) The inclusion probabilities must be: a) knowable for nonsampled units and b) known for those units selected in the sample: since the inclusion probability determines the weight attached to each sampling unit in the accuracy estimation formulas, if the inclusion probabilities are unknown, so are the estimation weights. This original work presents a novel (to the best of these authors' knowledge, the first) probability sampling protocol for Quality assessment and comparison of thematic maps generated from spaceborne/airborne very high resolution images, where: 1) an original Categorical Variable Pair Similarity Index (proposed in two different formulations) is estimated as a fuzzy degree of match between a reference and a test semantic vocabulary, which may not coincide, and 2) both symbolic pixel-based thematic Quality indicators (TQIs) and sub-symbolic object-based Spatial Quality indicators (SQIs) are estimated with a degree of uncertainty in measurement in compliance with the well-known Quality Assurance Framework for Earth Observation (QA4EO) guidelines. Like a decision-tree, any protocol (guidelines for best practice) comprises a set of rules, equivalent to structural knowledge, and an order of presentation of the rule set, known as procedural knowledge. The combination of these two levels of knowledge makes an original protocol worth more than the sum of its parts. The several degrees of novelty of the proposed probability sampling protocol are highlighted in this paper, at the levels of understanding of both structural and procedural knowledge, in comparison with related multi-disciplinary works selected from the existing literature. In the experimental session, the proposed protocol is tested for accuracy validation of preliminary classification maps automatically generated by the Satellite Image Automatic Mapper (SIAM™) software product from two WorldView-2 images and one QuickBird-2 image provided by DigitalGlobe for testing purposes. In these experiments, collected TQIs and SQIs are statistically valid, statistically significant, consistent across maps, and in agreement with theoretical expectations, visual (qualitative) evidence and quantitative Quality indexes of operativeness (OQIs) claimed for SIAM™ by related papers. As a subsidiary conclusion, the statistically consistent and statistically significant accuracy validation of the SIAM™ pre-classification maps proposed in this contribution, together with OQIs claimed for SIAM™ by related works, make the operational (automatic, accurate, near real-time, robust, scalable) SIAM™ software product eligible for opening up new inter-disciplinary research and market opportunities in accordance with the visionary goal of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems initiative and the QA4EO international guidelines.
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Probability Sampling Protocol for Thematic and Spatial Quality Assessment of Classification Maps Generated From Spaceborne/Airborne Very High Resolution Images
IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 2014Co-Authors: Andrea Baraldi, Luigi Boschetti, Michael L HumberAbstract:To deliver sample estimates provided with the necessary probability foundation to permit generalization from the sample data subset to the whole target population being sampled, probability sampling strategies are required to satisfy three necessary not sufficient conditions: 1) All inclusion probabilities be greater than zero in the target population to be sampled. If some sampling units have an inclusion probability of zero, then a map accuracy assessment does not represent the entire target region depicted in the map to be assessed. 2) The inclusion probabilities must be: a) knowable for nonsampled units and b) known for those units selected in the sample: since the inclusion probability determines the weight attached to each sampling unit in the accuracy estimation formulas, if the inclusion probabilities are unknown, so are the estimation weights. This original work presents a novel (to the best of these authors' knowledge, the first) probability sampling protocol for Quality assessment and comparison of thematic maps generated from spaceborne/airborne very high resolution images, where: 1) an original Categorical Variable Pair Similarity Index (proposed in two different formulations) is estimated as a fuzzy degree of match between a reference and a test semantic vocabulary, which may not coincide, and 2) both symbolic pixel-based thematic Quality indicators (TQIs) and sub-symbolic object-based Spatial Quality indicators (SQIs) are estimated with a degree of uncertainty in measurement in compliance with the well-known Quality Assurance Framework for Earth Observation (QA4EO) guidelines. Like a decision-tree, any protocol (guidelines for best practice) comprises a set of rules, equivalent to structural knowledge, and an order of presentation of the rule set, known as procedural knowledge. The combination of these two levels of knowledge makes an original protocol worth more than the sum of its parts. The several degrees of novelty of the proposed probability sampling protocol are highlighted in this paper, at the levels of understanding of both structural and procedural knowledge, in comparison with related multi-disciplinary works selected from the existing literature. In the experimental session, the proposed protocol is tested for accuracy validation of preliminary classification maps automatically generated by the Satellite Image Automatic Mapper (SIAM™) software product from two WorldView-2 images and one QuickBird-2 image provided by DigitalGlobe for testing purposes. In these experiments, collected TQIs and SQIs are statistically valid, statistically significant, consistent across maps, and in agreement with theoretical expectations, visual (qualitative) evidence and quantitative Quality indexes of operativeness (OQIs) claimed for SIAM™ by related papers. As a subsidiary conclusion, the statistically consistent and statistically significant accuracy validation of the SIAM™ pre-classification maps proposed in this contribution, together with OQIs claimed for SIAM™ by related works, make the operational (automatic, accurate, near real-time, robust, scalable) SIAM™ software product eligible for opening up new inter-disciplinary research and market opportunities in accordance with the visionary goal of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems initiative and the QA4EO international guidelines.
Andrea Baraldi - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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probability sampling protocol for thematic and Spatial Quality assessment of classification maps generated from spaceborne airborne very high resolution images
IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 2014Co-Authors: Andrea Baraldi, Luigi Boschetti, Michael L HumberAbstract:To deliver sample estimates provided with the necessary probability foundation to permit generalization from the sample data subset to the whole target population being sampled, probability sampling strategies are required to satisfy three necessary not sufficient conditions: 1) All inclusion probabilities be greater than zero in the target population to be sampled. If some sampling units have an inclusion probability of zero, then a map accuracy assessment does not represent the entire target region depicted in the map to be assessed. 2) The inclusion probabilities must be: a) knowable for nonsampled units and b) known for those units selected in the sample: since the inclusion probability determines the weight attached to each sampling unit in the accuracy estimation formulas, if the inclusion probabilities are unknown, so are the estimation weights. This original work presents a novel (to the best of these authors' knowledge, the first) probability sampling protocol for Quality assessment and comparison of thematic maps generated from spaceborne/airborne very high resolution images, where: 1) an original Categorical Variable Pair Similarity Index (proposed in two different formulations) is estimated as a fuzzy degree of match between a reference and a test semantic vocabulary, which may not coincide, and 2) both symbolic pixel-based thematic Quality indicators (TQIs) and sub-symbolic object-based Spatial Quality indicators (SQIs) are estimated with a degree of uncertainty in measurement in compliance with the well-known Quality Assurance Framework for Earth Observation (QA4EO) guidelines. Like a decision-tree, any protocol (guidelines for best practice) comprises a set of rules, equivalent to structural knowledge, and an order of presentation of the rule set, known as procedural knowledge. The combination of these two levels of knowledge makes an original protocol worth more than the sum of its parts. The several degrees of novelty of the proposed probability sampling protocol are highlighted in this paper, at the levels of understanding of both structural and procedural knowledge, in comparison with related multi-disciplinary works selected from the existing literature. In the experimental session, the proposed protocol is tested for accuracy validation of preliminary classification maps automatically generated by the Satellite Image Automatic Mapper (SIAM™) software product from two WorldView-2 images and one QuickBird-2 image provided by DigitalGlobe for testing purposes. In these experiments, collected TQIs and SQIs are statistically valid, statistically significant, consistent across maps, and in agreement with theoretical expectations, visual (qualitative) evidence and quantitative Quality indexes of operativeness (OQIs) claimed for SIAM™ by related papers. As a subsidiary conclusion, the statistically consistent and statistically significant accuracy validation of the SIAM™ pre-classification maps proposed in this contribution, together with OQIs claimed for SIAM™ by related works, make the operational (automatic, accurate, near real-time, robust, scalable) SIAM™ software product eligible for opening up new inter-disciplinary research and market opportunities in accordance with the visionary goal of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems initiative and the QA4EO international guidelines.
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Probability Sampling Protocol for Thematic and Spatial Quality Assessment of Classification Maps Generated From Spaceborne/Airborne Very High Resolution Images
IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 2014Co-Authors: Andrea Baraldi, Luigi Boschetti, Michael L HumberAbstract:To deliver sample estimates provided with the necessary probability foundation to permit generalization from the sample data subset to the whole target population being sampled, probability sampling strategies are required to satisfy three necessary not sufficient conditions: 1) All inclusion probabilities be greater than zero in the target population to be sampled. If some sampling units have an inclusion probability of zero, then a map accuracy assessment does not represent the entire target region depicted in the map to be assessed. 2) The inclusion probabilities must be: a) knowable for nonsampled units and b) known for those units selected in the sample: since the inclusion probability determines the weight attached to each sampling unit in the accuracy estimation formulas, if the inclusion probabilities are unknown, so are the estimation weights. This original work presents a novel (to the best of these authors' knowledge, the first) probability sampling protocol for Quality assessment and comparison of thematic maps generated from spaceborne/airborne very high resolution images, where: 1) an original Categorical Variable Pair Similarity Index (proposed in two different formulations) is estimated as a fuzzy degree of match between a reference and a test semantic vocabulary, which may not coincide, and 2) both symbolic pixel-based thematic Quality indicators (TQIs) and sub-symbolic object-based Spatial Quality indicators (SQIs) are estimated with a degree of uncertainty in measurement in compliance with the well-known Quality Assurance Framework for Earth Observation (QA4EO) guidelines. Like a decision-tree, any protocol (guidelines for best practice) comprises a set of rules, equivalent to structural knowledge, and an order of presentation of the rule set, known as procedural knowledge. The combination of these two levels of knowledge makes an original protocol worth more than the sum of its parts. The several degrees of novelty of the proposed probability sampling protocol are highlighted in this paper, at the levels of understanding of both structural and procedural knowledge, in comparison with related multi-disciplinary works selected from the existing literature. In the experimental session, the proposed protocol is tested for accuracy validation of preliminary classification maps automatically generated by the Satellite Image Automatic Mapper (SIAM™) software product from two WorldView-2 images and one QuickBird-2 image provided by DigitalGlobe for testing purposes. In these experiments, collected TQIs and SQIs are statistically valid, statistically significant, consistent across maps, and in agreement with theoretical expectations, visual (qualitative) evidence and quantitative Quality indexes of operativeness (OQIs) claimed for SIAM™ by related papers. As a subsidiary conclusion, the statistically consistent and statistically significant accuracy validation of the SIAM™ pre-classification maps proposed in this contribution, together with OQIs claimed for SIAM™ by related works, make the operational (automatic, accurate, near real-time, robust, scalable) SIAM™ software product eligible for opening up new inter-disciplinary research and market opportunities in accordance with the visionary goal of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems initiative and the QA4EO international guidelines.
Anne Loes Nillesen - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Spatial Quality as a Decisive Criterion in Flood Risk Strategies : An integrated approach for flood risk management strategy development, with Spatial Quality as an ex-ante criterion
2019Co-Authors: Anne Loes NillesenAbstract:The role of the designer in flood risk management strategy development is currently often restricted to the important but limited task of optimally embedding technical interventions, which are themselves derivatives of system level flood risk strategies that are developed at an earlier stage, in their local surroundings. During this thesis research, an integrated approach is developed in which Spatial Quality can already be included in the regional flood risk management strategy development, and thus can become a decisive ‘ex-ante’ aspect of flood risk management strategy development. The key principle to this approach is the inclusion of a range of interchangeable (effective) flood risk reduction interventions at varying locations, so that the criterion of Spatial Quality can become decisive in flood risk management strategy development. As part of the methodology development, an assessment framework is developed, allowing for the assessment of the impact of the different interventions on Spatial Quality; research-by-design is employed to systematically evaluate different interventions at different locations. The Rijnmond-Drechtsteden area in The Netherlands is used as a case study area for this research.
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Spatial Quality as a decisive criterion in flood risk strategies
A+BE: Architecture and the Built Environment, 2019Co-Authors: Anne Loes NillesenAbstract:The role of the designer in flood risk management strategy development is currently often restricted to the important but limited task of optimally embedding technical interventions, which are themselves derivatives of system level flood risk strategies that are developed at an earlier stage, in their local surroundings. During this thesis research, an integrated approach is developed in which Spatial Quality can already be included in the regional flood risk management strategy development and thus can become a decisive ‘ex-ante’ aspect of flood risk management strategy development. The key principle to this approach is the inclusion of a range of interchangeable (effective) flood risk reduction interventions at varying locations so that the criterion of Spatial Quality can become decisive in flood risk management strategy development. As part of the methodology development, an assessment framework is developed, allowing for the assessment of the impact of the different interventions on Spatial Quality; research-by-design is employed to systematically evaluate different interventions at different locations. The Rijnmond-Drechtsteden area in The Netherlands is used as a case study area for this research.
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Flood Risk and Spatial Quality
A+BE: Architecture and the Built Environment, 2018Co-Authors: Anne Loes NillesenAbstract:This book chapter describes the current practice with regard to combined approaches for flood risk management and Spatial Quality enhancement in the Netherlands. Currently, there is a requirement to extend the current flood risk system because of increased flood risk (caused by climate change and increased investments in the protected area) and new insights with regard to acceptable risks. Flood risk measures nowadays need to be implemented in a context in which local stakeholders emphasise aspects such as Spatial Quality and ecology. In this contemporary context, we see interesting developments with regard to combined approaches for flood risk protection, such as, for instance, the experimental flood proof building programme, the ‘building with nature’ concept (in which natural principles are employed for flood risk protection), the atelier for coastal Quality (that as part of the Delta Programme developed integrated designs for coastal protection and Quality) and the ‘Room for the River’ project (in which, as an alternative to dike reinforcement, the water load is reduced by creating extra space for the river to expand). For this research, the ‘Room for the River’ project is an important reference. Within the project, which aims to address more extreme river discharges, Spatial Quality is an important secondary objective. Next to the availability of extra budgets, a ‘Quality Team’ was established to supervise the inclusion of Spatial Quality objectives. The project addressed the growing resistance against the elevation of traditionallybuilt levees, by offering an alternative option of lowering the water levels by improving the flow capacity of the river (for example, by creating a bypass to widen the river). Within the development of the combined method for flood risk and Spatial Quality, different aspects have been inspired or based on the ‘Room for the River’ approach. Among such aspects are the dual flood risk and Spatial Quality objective, the principle of providing alternative options for flood risk management interventions, and the inclusion of a Spatial Quality assessment.
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Water Safety Strategies and Local-scale Spatial Quality
A+BE: Architecture and the Built Environment, 2018Co-Authors: Anne Loes NillesenAbstract:In this paper, the development of a method to assess the impact of a flood risk intervention on Spatial Quality is described. In order to make Spatial Quality a decisive criterion for the selection of flood risk management interventions, the assessment of the impact of an intervention on Spatial Quality should be assessed in a verifiable and reproducible way. As described in the first publication, the Delta Programme defined four alternative system strategies for the reduction of flood risk in the Rijnmond Drechtsteden area. In this research, the developed method is deployed to assess the impact of those alternative system scale interventions on local scale Spatial Quality. The developed method is based on the ‘Room for the River’ assessment framework for Spatial Quality, which is based on a combination of a criteria checklist and expert judgement. The Room for the River method is developed to test elaborate design proposals in a rural setting. In this research, the framework is adjusted and extended to test more conceptual interventions, and criteria are altered to fit the more urban setting of the Rijnmond Drechtsteden area. In the research, the criteria on the checklist (which are based on the perception of Spatial Quality of a combination of utility, attractiveness, and robustness) are only considered when deemed relevant by the experts. The checklist supports the expert judgement in two valuable ways: firstly, as a tool to during consecutive assessments provide the experts with a coherent and wide view of criteria, and secondly, to make the assessment verifiable and open to discussion. The method contains the following steps: Adapt the Spatial assessment framework to specific conditions for a case study area. Visualise the various (local-scale) locations that need to be evaluated in a consistent and neutral fashion. Assess the current situation as a reference, using an expert team and relevant criteria from the framework Assess the new situation related to the flood risk protection strategy, using an expert team and relevant criteria from the framework. Though time-consuming, the assessment framework works well in achieving verifiable assessments regarding the impact of regional and local flood risk management interventions on Spatial Quality at a local scale, in this particular case study, by allowing the local scale Spatial Quality to function as a selection criterion for selecting a regional flood risk management strategy. In this dissertation research, Spatial Quality is aimed to be a criterion in strategy development and not just in selecting already composed strategies. In order to achieve this, in an earlier research stage, different measures will have to be assessed, and, based on the assessment, be selected or omitted as components of a regional flood risk management strategy.
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Improving the Allocation of Flood risk management interventions From a Spatial Quality Perspective
A+BE: Architecture and the Built Environment, 2018Co-Authors: Anne Loes NillesenAbstract:In this publication, the developed integrated method for including Spatial Quality as an ex-ante criterion in flood risk management strategy development is presented in detail and tested. Based on the results of the earlier research-by-design exercise, as described in the third publication, it is concluded that the key to making Spatial Quality an ex-ante criterion is to make sure sufficient interchangeable flood risk management interventions, with varying locations, are available, since having multiple effective measures from a flood risk perspective makes selection based on other criteria, such as Spatial Quality, possible. In this paper, the ways in which a range of interchangeable measures can be included by considering flood risk management interventions at different scale levels (varying from system scale to local scale interventions) and at different flood risk layers (including both flood risk reduction and consequence reduction measures) is described. As a base reference situation, the impact on Spatial Quality of the ‘business as usual’ flood risk management strategy for this region is assessed. Subsequently, the ways that the flood risk management interventions can be shifted away from the locations in which they have a negative effect on Spatial Quality, by considering alternatives with a better (preferably neutral or positive) impact on Spatial Quality is tested. This is done by systematically deploying interventions at different scale levels and safety layers, while assessing their impact on Spatial Quality. Based on this assessment, the combinations of measures that result in an optimal impact on Spatial Quality, can be selected for the regional flood risk management strategy. This case study research demonstrates that the developed method, compared to the business as usual reference strategy, allows for Spatial Quality to become an ex-ante criterion, resulting in the formulation of a flood risk management strategy with an improved impact on Spatial Quality. The approach includes the following steps: An inventory of the current and potential flood risk protection strategies An inventory of the Spatial characteristics, ambition, and potentials of the region A qualitative assessment of the existing situation and (if available) of a reference flood risk management strategy Systematic research-by-design on how flood risk management interventions at different scales can shift the local flood risk management interventions (and a qualitative assessment of this shift) Systematic research-by-design on how interventions in different flood risk intervention layers can shift the flood risk intervention (and a qualitative assessment of this shift)
Douglas M. Cyr - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Polyglutamine-rich suppressors of huntingtin toxicity act upstream of Hsp70 and Sti1 in Spatial Quality control of amyloid-like proteins.
PloS one, 2014Co-Authors: Katie J. Wolfe, Hong Yu Ren, Philipp Trepte, Douglas M. CyrAbstract:Protein conformational maladies such as Huntington Disease are characterized by accumulation of intracellular and extracellular protein inclusions containing amyloid-like proteins. There is an inverse correlation between proteotoxicity and aggregation, so facilitated protein aggregation appears cytoprotective. To define mechanisms for protective protein aggregation, a screen for suppressors of nuclear huntingtin (Htt103Q) toxicity was conducted. Nuclear Htt103Q is highly toxic and less aggregation prone than its cytosolic form, so we identified suppressors of cytotoxicity caused by Htt103Q tagged with a nuclear localization signal (NLS). High copy suppressors of Htt103Q-NLS toxicity include the polyQ-domain containing proteins Nab3, Pop2, and Cbk1, and each suppresses Htt toxicity via a different mechanism. Htt103Q-NLS appears to inactivate the essential functions of Nab3 in RNA processing in the nucleus. Function of Pop2 and Cbk1 is not impaired by nuclear Htt103Q, as their respective polyQ-rich domains are sufficient to suppress Htt103Q toxicity. Pop2 is a subunit of an RNA processing complex and is localized throughout the cytoplasm. Expression of just the Pop2 polyQ domain and an adjacent proline-rich stretch is sufficient to suppress Htt103Q toxicity. The proline-rich domain in Pop2 resembles an aggresome targeting signal, so Pop2 may act in trans to positively impact Spatial Quality control of Htt103Q. Cbk1 accumulates in discrete perinuclear foci and overexpression of the Cbk1 polyQ domain concentrates diffuse Htt103Q into these foci, which correlates with suppression of Htt toxicity. Protective action of Pop2 and Cbk1 in Spatial Quality control is dependent upon the Hsp70 co-chaperone Sti1, which packages amyloid-like proteins into benign foci. Protein:protein interactions between Htt103Q and its intracellular neighbors lead to toxic and protective outcomes. A subset of polyQ-rich proteins buffer amyloid toxicity by funneling toxic aggregation intermediates to the Hsp70/Sti1 system for Spatial organization into benign species.
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the hsp70 90 cochaperone sti1 suppresses proteotoxicity by regulating Spatial Quality control of amyloid like proteins
Molecular Biology of the Cell, 2013Co-Authors: Katie J. Wolfe, Hong Yu Ren, Philipp Trepte, Douglas M. CyrAbstract:Conformational diseases are associated with the conversion of normal proteins into aggregation-prone toxic conformers with structures similar to that of β-amyloid. Spatial distribution of amyloid-like proteins into intracellular Quality control centers can be beneficial, but cellular mechanisms for protective aggregation remain unclear. We used a high-copy suppressor screen in yeast to identify roles for the Hsp70 system in Spatial organization of toxic polyglutamine-expanded Huntingtin (Huntingtin with 103Q glutamine stretch [Htt103Q]) into benign assemblies. Under toxic conditions, Htt103Q accumulates in unassembled states and speckled cytosolic foci. Subtle modulation of Sti1 activity reciprocally affects Htt toxicity and the packaging of Htt103Q into foci. Loss of Sti1 exacerbates Htt toxicity and hinders foci formation, whereas elevation of Sti1 suppresses Htt toxicity while organizing small Htt103Q foci into larger assemblies. Sti1 also suppresses cytotoxicity of the glutamine-rich yeast prion [RNQ+] while reorganizing speckled Rnq1–monomeric red fluorescent protein into distinct foci. Sti1-inducible foci are perinuclear and contain proteins that are bound by the amyloid indicator dye thioflavin-T. Sti1 is an Hsp70 cochaperone that regulates the Spatial organization of amyloid-like proteins in the cytosol and thereby buffers proteotoxicity caused by amyloid-like proteins.
Luigi Boschetti - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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probability sampling protocol for thematic and Spatial Quality assessment of classification maps generated from spaceborne airborne very high resolution images
IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 2014Co-Authors: Andrea Baraldi, Luigi Boschetti, Michael L HumberAbstract:To deliver sample estimates provided with the necessary probability foundation to permit generalization from the sample data subset to the whole target population being sampled, probability sampling strategies are required to satisfy three necessary not sufficient conditions: 1) All inclusion probabilities be greater than zero in the target population to be sampled. If some sampling units have an inclusion probability of zero, then a map accuracy assessment does not represent the entire target region depicted in the map to be assessed. 2) The inclusion probabilities must be: a) knowable for nonsampled units and b) known for those units selected in the sample: since the inclusion probability determines the weight attached to each sampling unit in the accuracy estimation formulas, if the inclusion probabilities are unknown, so are the estimation weights. This original work presents a novel (to the best of these authors' knowledge, the first) probability sampling protocol for Quality assessment and comparison of thematic maps generated from spaceborne/airborne very high resolution images, where: 1) an original Categorical Variable Pair Similarity Index (proposed in two different formulations) is estimated as a fuzzy degree of match between a reference and a test semantic vocabulary, which may not coincide, and 2) both symbolic pixel-based thematic Quality indicators (TQIs) and sub-symbolic object-based Spatial Quality indicators (SQIs) are estimated with a degree of uncertainty in measurement in compliance with the well-known Quality Assurance Framework for Earth Observation (QA4EO) guidelines. Like a decision-tree, any protocol (guidelines for best practice) comprises a set of rules, equivalent to structural knowledge, and an order of presentation of the rule set, known as procedural knowledge. The combination of these two levels of knowledge makes an original protocol worth more than the sum of its parts. The several degrees of novelty of the proposed probability sampling protocol are highlighted in this paper, at the levels of understanding of both structural and procedural knowledge, in comparison with related multi-disciplinary works selected from the existing literature. In the experimental session, the proposed protocol is tested for accuracy validation of preliminary classification maps automatically generated by the Satellite Image Automatic Mapper (SIAM™) software product from two WorldView-2 images and one QuickBird-2 image provided by DigitalGlobe for testing purposes. In these experiments, collected TQIs and SQIs are statistically valid, statistically significant, consistent across maps, and in agreement with theoretical expectations, visual (qualitative) evidence and quantitative Quality indexes of operativeness (OQIs) claimed for SIAM™ by related papers. As a subsidiary conclusion, the statistically consistent and statistically significant accuracy validation of the SIAM™ pre-classification maps proposed in this contribution, together with OQIs claimed for SIAM™ by related works, make the operational (automatic, accurate, near real-time, robust, scalable) SIAM™ software product eligible for opening up new inter-disciplinary research and market opportunities in accordance with the visionary goal of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems initiative and the QA4EO international guidelines.
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Probability Sampling Protocol for Thematic and Spatial Quality Assessment of Classification Maps Generated From Spaceborne/Airborne Very High Resolution Images
IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 2014Co-Authors: Andrea Baraldi, Luigi Boschetti, Michael L HumberAbstract:To deliver sample estimates provided with the necessary probability foundation to permit generalization from the sample data subset to the whole target population being sampled, probability sampling strategies are required to satisfy three necessary not sufficient conditions: 1) All inclusion probabilities be greater than zero in the target population to be sampled. If some sampling units have an inclusion probability of zero, then a map accuracy assessment does not represent the entire target region depicted in the map to be assessed. 2) The inclusion probabilities must be: a) knowable for nonsampled units and b) known for those units selected in the sample: since the inclusion probability determines the weight attached to each sampling unit in the accuracy estimation formulas, if the inclusion probabilities are unknown, so are the estimation weights. This original work presents a novel (to the best of these authors' knowledge, the first) probability sampling protocol for Quality assessment and comparison of thematic maps generated from spaceborne/airborne very high resolution images, where: 1) an original Categorical Variable Pair Similarity Index (proposed in two different formulations) is estimated as a fuzzy degree of match between a reference and a test semantic vocabulary, which may not coincide, and 2) both symbolic pixel-based thematic Quality indicators (TQIs) and sub-symbolic object-based Spatial Quality indicators (SQIs) are estimated with a degree of uncertainty in measurement in compliance with the well-known Quality Assurance Framework for Earth Observation (QA4EO) guidelines. Like a decision-tree, any protocol (guidelines for best practice) comprises a set of rules, equivalent to structural knowledge, and an order of presentation of the rule set, known as procedural knowledge. The combination of these two levels of knowledge makes an original protocol worth more than the sum of its parts. The several degrees of novelty of the proposed probability sampling protocol are highlighted in this paper, at the levels of understanding of both structural and procedural knowledge, in comparison with related multi-disciplinary works selected from the existing literature. In the experimental session, the proposed protocol is tested for accuracy validation of preliminary classification maps automatically generated by the Satellite Image Automatic Mapper (SIAM™) software product from two WorldView-2 images and one QuickBird-2 image provided by DigitalGlobe for testing purposes. In these experiments, collected TQIs and SQIs are statistically valid, statistically significant, consistent across maps, and in agreement with theoretical expectations, visual (qualitative) evidence and quantitative Quality indexes of operativeness (OQIs) claimed for SIAM™ by related papers. As a subsidiary conclusion, the statistically consistent and statistically significant accuracy validation of the SIAM™ pre-classification maps proposed in this contribution, together with OQIs claimed for SIAM™ by related works, make the operational (automatic, accurate, near real-time, robust, scalable) SIAM™ software product eligible for opening up new inter-disciplinary research and market opportunities in accordance with the visionary goal of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems initiative and the QA4EO international guidelines.
