Automated parameterisation for multi-scale image segmentation on multiple layers

We introduce a new automated approach to parameterising multi-scale image segmentation of multiple layers, and we implemented it as a generic tool for the eCognition (R) software. This approach relies on the potential of the local variance (LV) to detect scale transitions in geospatial data. The tool detects the number of layers added to a project and segments them iteratively with a multiresolution segmentation algorithm in a bottom-up approach, where the scale factor in the segmentation, namely, the scale parameter (SP), increases with a constant increment. The average LV value of the objects in all of the layers is computed and serves as a condition for stopping the iterations: when a scale level records an LV value that is equal to or lower than the previous value, the iteration ends, and the objects segmented in the previous level are retained. Three orders of magnitude of SP lags produce a corresponding number of scale levels. Tests on very high resolution imagery provided satisfactory results for generic applicability. The tool has a significant potential for enabling objectivity and automation of GEOBIA analysis. (C) 2013 International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Inc. (ISPRS) Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.