Department of Urban and Regional Planning

Khulna University of Engineering & Technology (KUET), Khulna-9203, Bangladesh

URP 2281 GIS and Remote Sensing

Digital Image Processing

Tanmoy Mazumder
Assistant Professor, Department of URP, KUET
Digital Image
 A digital image is a two-dimensional array of
pixels (Spatial Resolution). It also called Raster
Image.
 Each pixel has an intensity value which is
represented by a Digital Number (DN value) and a
location address (Latitude and Longitude).

DN value of brighter object???

Analog and Digital Images
Remote sensing images are representations of parts of the earth surface as seen from
space. The images may be
1. Analog or
2. Digital.
Aerial photographs are examples of analog images while satellite images acquired
using electronic sensors are examples of digital images.
Analog to Digital Conversion Process
Reflected EMR (Analog signal)  Enter in sensor as electrical voltage  Covert to DN
(Based on intensity)
Input Electrical Voltage

DN Value
Pixel
Analog to Digital Conversion Process
Digital number is stored as binary number in computer which is called bit. 75 (Binary
1001011) [1×26 + 0×25 + 0×24 + 1×23 + 0×22 + 1×21 + 1×20]

8 bit binary computer coding system

28 = 256 level of brightness (0-255)

Highest 255 = 11111111

Eye of Human can detect only 8-16 level of

brightness
Types of Digital Image
1. Binary Image
A binary image is one that consists of pixels that can have one of exactly two colors,
usually black and white.
Each pixel is stored as a single bit—i.e., a 0 or 1.
Types of Digital Image
2. Monospectral Image
Sensors capable of acquisition of imaging data from one discrete spectral band.
Types of Digital Image
3. Multispectral Image
A multispectral image consists of a few image layers, each layer represents an image acquired
at a particular wavelength band. A hyperspectral image consists of about a hundred or more
contiguous spectral bands. A multispectral IKONOS image consists of four bands: Blue, Green,
Red and Near Infrared, while a Landsat TM multispectral image consists of seven bands: blue,
green, red, near-IR bands, two SWIR bands, and a thermal IR band.
Types of Digital Image
4. Multidimensional Image
A multidimensional satellite image refers to
satellite imagery data that is captured and
represented in multiple dimensions. These
dimensions can include various spectral,
temporal, and radiometric dimensions,
providing a more comprehensive and
detailed view of the Earth's surface and its
changes over time. Here's an overview of
some of the key dimensions in
multidimensional satellite imagery:
Types of Digital Image
5. Color Image
A color satellite image is an image captured
by a satellite sensor that represents the
Earth's surface in colors similar to what
the human eye would perceive. Unlike
grayscale or single-channel images, color
satellite images use a combination of
different spectral bands to create a visual
representation that mimics natural colors.
Image Pre-processing
1. Geometric Correction
This correction involves the adjustment of satellite imagery to remove distortions and
inaccuracies caused by various factors such as
 Earth's curvature/ terrain relief (variation in elevation)
 Satellites or aircraft not staying at a constant altitude
 Sensors deviating from the primary focus plane
This correction is essential for ensuring that satellite images accurately represent the Earth's
surface, allowing for reliable analysis, mapping, and integration with other geospatial data. Images
are often compared to Ground Control Points (GCPs) on accurate base maps and resampled, so
that exact locations and appropriate pixel values can be calculated. It is also called geo-
referencing. Map projection system is very important here.
Image Pre-processing
Geometric Correction Types
 Orthorectification: Adjusts the image to remove distortions caused by the topography of the
Earth's surface, producing a map-like image where the distances are accurate.
 Image-to-Image Registration: Aligns two or more satellite images from different times or
sensors, ensuring that corresponding pixels represent the same geographic location.
 Ground Control Points (GCPs): These are real-world reference points used to correct
geometric distortions by mapping image coordinates to geographic coordinates. Images are
often compared to Ground Control Points (GCPs) on accurate base maps and resampled, so
that exact locations and appropriate pixel values can be calculated. It is also called geo-
referencing. Map projection system is very important here.
Image Pre-processing
2. Radiometric Correction
It aims to remove or reduce inconsistencies in the radiometric properties of the imagery caused by
factors like
 Atmospheric interference (Atmospheric attenuation/scattering, viewing geometry)
 Recording problem of sensors (Sensor detector is not working)
 Variations in sunlight
This correction is essential to ensure that satellite images accurately represent the reflectance or
radiance of the Earth's surface, enabling reliable analysis, interpretation, and comparison of data
from different sensors or over different times. Radiometric enhancement is needed when a single
object pixels show different values.
Image Pre-processing
2. Radiometric Correction
Radiometric enhancement deals with the individual values of the pixels in the image. It takes
into account the values of neighboring pixels. Depending on the points and the bands in
which they appear, radiometric enhancements that are applied to one band may not be
appropriate for other bands. Therefore, the radiometric enhancement of a multiband image can
usually be considered as a series of independent, single-band enhancements.

18 20 25 18 20 25
0 0 0 16 20 22
14 20 18 14 20 18

Before Digital Restoration Before Digital Restoration

Image Pre-processing
3. Atmospheric Correction
Surface reflectance of an object may be varied due to cloud, humidity, temperature and others
atmospheric effects. Atmospheric correction is the process of removing the effects of the
atmosphere on the reflectance values of images taken by satellite sensors. Atmospheric
correction aims to accurately retrieve the surface properties (e.g., reflectance) of the Earth from the
sensor measurements by compensating for these atmospheric effects.

Types:
 Dark Object Subtraction (DOS): Assumes that certain areas (e.g., water bodies) should appear dark and
adjusts brightness values accordingly to account for atmospheric effects.
 Radiative Transfer Models: Complex algorithms simulate the interaction of light with the atmosphere to
estimate and correct for the atmospheric interference in satellite images.
Image Pre-processing
4. Noise Reduction
Noise, caused by sensor errors, can degrade image quality and needs to be removed.
 Smoothing Filters: These reduce random noise using spatial filters like Gaussian, median, or
low-pass filters.
 Principal Component Analysis (PCA): Identifies and reduces noise by transforming the image
into its principal components, filtering out components that represent noise. Principal
components are new variables created by transforming the original dataset. These new
variables are linear combinations of the original variables (such as spectral bands in satellite
images)
Image Pre-processing
5. Pan-sharpening
Pan-sharpening merges high-resolution panchromatic images with lower-resolution multispectral
images to enhance spatial resolution while preserving spectral information.
 Brovey Transform: A method of pan-sharpening that blends the panchromatic and multispectral
images using mathematical combinations of their pixel values.
 Gram-Schmidt Method: Uses statistical techniques to merge the spectral information with high-
resolution details effectively.
Image Pre-processing
transforming correlated spectral bands into a set of uncorrelated principal
6. Spectral Enhancement components.

Spectral enhancement techniques improve the visibility of specific features by manipulating the
spectral bands.
 Band Ratioing: Divides one spectral band by another to highlight certain features, such as
vegetation (using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, NDVI).
 Principal Component Analysis (PCA): Reduces redundancy in spectral bands and highlights
variance, improving feature discrimination.
 Histogram Equalization: Enhances contrast by spreading out the most frequent intensity
values across the entire range of pixel values.
Image Pre-processing
7. Mosaic Creation
Mosaicking involves stitching together multiple satellite images to form a larger, seamless image
covering a broader area.
 Feathering: Blends the overlapping areas between images to create a seamless transition
(uninterrupted change).
 Color Balancing: Adjusts the brightness and contrast of individual images to maintain
consistent colors across the mosaic.

8. Rescaling
9.
Rescaling adjusts pixel values to a common scale, such as converting radiance values to surface
reflectance or adjusting pixel intensity to a specific range (e.g., 0–255).
Thanks!!!