OpenGeoHub Summer School 2023

Unsupervised classification (clustering) of satellite images (part 1)
2023-08-29, 13:30–15:00, Room 21 (Sala 21)

Unsupervised classification of satellite images is the process of grouping similar pixels on an image into homogeneous clusters based primarily on their spectral characteristics. This approach does not require reference (labeled) data, unlike supervised classification, therefore it can be used as a method of first choice. Satellite image classification is commonly used in a variety of fields, including environmental monitoring, land cover mapping, and disaster management. The generated thematic maps can be used to identify and monitor changes in land use, and assess the impact of natural disasters.

During this workshop, participants will gain practical knowledge and skills to perform unsupervised classification of Landsat data using the R language. It will be demonstrated step by step how to use and prepare raster data for analysis, popular grouping methods will be discussed and finally we will prepare a land cover map with interpretation of the results. The workshop will also cover the challenges and limitations of unsupervised classification, such as subjective interpretation of results difficulty of selecting the optimal number of clusters, and validation methods for ensuring the accuracy and reliability of results.

The workshop is aimed at beginners, but basic knowledge of GIS and satellite remote sensing is required.


What is your current associations to EU Horizon projects (if any)? Please provide URL that you plan to use to distribute your materials (if available).

Workshop materials are available here: https://github.com/kadyb/OGH2023

I am a PhD student in the field of Earth and environmental sciences at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. I am interested in spatial data analysis, remote sensing and programming in R, particularly in agriculture, and I was involved in several R&D projects related to crop classification, yield prediction, and soil mapping. I also contributed to the development of R-spatial packages.

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