3 ECTS credits
90 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 4023542FNR for all students in the 1st semester at a (F) Master - specialised level.

Semester
1st semester
Enrollment based on exam contract
Impossible
Grading method
Grading (scale from 0 to 20)
Can retake in second session
Yes
Taught in
English
Partnership Agreement
Under interuniversity agreement for degree program
Faculty
Faculty of Sciences and Bioengineering Sciences
Department
Faculty of Sciences and Bioengineering Sciences
Educational team
Frank Canters (course titular)
Activities and contact hours
15 contact hours Lecture
15 contact hours Seminar, Exercises or Practicals
15 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study
Course Content

1. Low-resolution models for image interpretation
a. Dealing with mixed pixels
b. The linear mixture model: definition of end members, multiple endmember spectral mixture analysis, applications in land-use/land-cover mapping
c. Regression approaches: multiple linear regression, regression trees, neural network regression

2. Contextual approaches for image interpretation
a. Use of texture: first-order and second-order texture measures, semi-variograms
b. Use of external data: stratification, stacked vector approach, rule-based post-classification
c. Object-oriented approaches: image segmentation, object-oriented classification

3. Selected topics in current remote sensing research (themes may change from one year to another)

Course material
Handbook (Recommended) : Introductory Digital Image Processing, A Remote Sensing Perspective, A Remote Sensing Perspective, Jensen, J.R., 4th edition, Pearson Series in Geographic Information Science, 9780134058160, 2016
Handbook (Recommended) : Computer Processing of Remotely-Sensed Images, An Introduction, An Introduction, Mather, P.M, Koch, M., 4th edition, Wiley-Blackwell, 9780470742389, 2010
Handbook (Recommended) : Remote Sensing, Models and Methods for Image Processing, Models and Methods for Image Processing, Schowengerdt, R.A, 3th edition, Academic Press, 9780123694072, 2007
Digital course material (Required) : Course slides available on Canvas, Canvas
Digital course material (Required) : Selection of journal papers
Additional info

Required:

Basic knowledge GIS and Remote Sensing

Basic knowledge multivariate statistics

Learning Outcomes

algemene competenties

The course gives an overview of important research topics in (semi-) automated interpretation of earth observation data for land-use/land-cover mapping. A selection of the topics discussed in the theoretical part of the course is illustrated with practical case studies to be carried out by the students using remote sensing software. Results of the practical work are summarized and discussed in a series of scientific reports to be produced individually by each student.

 

After successful completion of this course the student should:

 

  • have a good understanding of different methods for sub-pixel classification and be  aware of the difficulties involved in properly applying these techniques;
  • have knowledge of the different ways of including contextual information in the image interpretation process;
  • be aware of the most important sources for obtaining information on the state-of-the-art of earth observation research in order to expand the knowledge acquired during the course;
  • be able to apply advanced earth observation techniques for producing land-use/land-cover information at different scale levels;
  • be able to define an appropriate strategy for mapping land-use/land-cover, taking into account the characteristics of the study area, the data available and the requirements of the applications (class definition, scale level);
  • be able to critically report about results obtained and compare/relate these results to previous work by other researchers.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Oral Exam determines 50% of the final mark.
PRAC Report determines 50% of the final mark.

Within the Oral Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Oral with written preparation with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 50% of the final mark.

Within the PRAC Report category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Scientific reports with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 50% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

Students cannot pass for this course if not all scientific reports have been submitted. Students have to obtain a score of minimum 8/20 on both the theoretical and the practical part of the exam to pass for this course. When the score is below 8/20 for either the theory part or the practical part, the total score for this course will be set equal to the lowest score of both partial evaluations.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark
The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context

This offer is part of the following study plans:
Master of Geography: Standaard traject (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Geography: Standard track