Earth feature identification for onboard multispectral data editing: Computational experiments

A computational model of the processes involved in multispectral remote sensing and data classification is developed as a tool for designing smart sensors which can process, edit, and classify the data that they acquire. An evaluation of sensor system performance and design tradeoffs involves classification rates and errors as a function of number and location of spectral channels, radiometric sensitivity and calibration accuracy, target discrimination assignments, and accuracy and frequency of compensation for imaging conditions. This model provides a link between the radiometric and statistical properties of the signals to be classified and the performance characteristics of electro-optical sensors and data processing devices. Preliminary computational results are presented which illustrate the editing performance of several remote sensing approaches.