Research on retrieval of remote sensing images based on shape feature

How to recognize man-made objects from high-resolution remote sensing images has been considered an attractive and important research field in remote sensing applications undoubtedly. In this paper we try to present a feasible contour-based retrieval strategy of remote sensing images. The merit of our strategy is it can avoid the impact caused by the difficult of automatic manmade object discrimination so far and the deficiency of huge computational volume aroused by template matching. Besides, on the basis of analyzing the limitations of common descriptors such as Fourier descriptor and Hu invariant moments, invariant relative moments are adopted to describe shape feature of man-made objects in our retrieval strategy. After describing contour feature extraction method, feature matching method and retrieval process based on shape feature, a prototype system is also designed and implemented to prove the validity and accuracy of our strategy mentioned above. In our experiments three types of man-made objects with different shape feature, i.e., boat, oilcan and buildings with flat-roof, are selected as our research targets. Experimental results illustrate that our strategy is feasible and the corresponding retrieval performance is analyzed, followed by conclusions and future works.