A Multi-Level Semantic Scene Interpretation Strategy for Change Interpretation in Remote Sensing Imagery

Remotely sensed images represent an important source of information for monitoring land changes that may occur. There is, therefore, a need to analyze and interpret such information in order to extract useful semantic change interpretations. However, extracting such semantics from satellite images is a complex task that requires prior and contextual knowledge. In this paper, we focus on the issue of semantic scene interpretation for change interpretation. Consequently, a strategy for semantic remote-sensing imagery scene interpretation is proposed. This strategy is based on a representative framework that is structured around several levels of interpretation: the pixel level, the visual primitive level, the object level, the scene level, and the change interpretation level. Each level integrates a logical mechanism to extract useful knowledge for interpretation. The proposed model has been evaluated using two Landsat scene images acquired in 2000 [Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus (ETM+)] and 2017 (Landsat 8) in order to check its relevance for semantic scene and change interpretation. Precision, recall, and F-measure metrics were used in order to show the capacity of the proposed methodology for semantic classification. A visual evaluation was also performed to evaluate the performance of the presented interpretation strategy, and the query results for each level show a promising capability for semantic object classification, spatial and temporal relations’ extraction, and change interpretation.