EPOCH: enhanced procedure for operational change detection using historical invariant features and PCA guided multivariate statistical technique

In this article, we have presented a methodology developed for automatic historical change detection using multi-decadal time-lapse remote sensing images, which we call as EPOCH. The unpaired bi-temporal images are spatially aligned using Mode Improved Scale Invariant Feature Transform (M-SIFT) to achieve sub-pixel co-registration accuracy. The surface changes are detected using Guided Image Filter Enhanced Multivariate Alteration Detection (GIF-MAD). The guidance image is extracted using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and an operational processing framework is devised to generate change detection map. EPOCH is evaluated with Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) images and Landsat multi-temporal images that observe Earth for more than three decades. The procedure is generalized to detect changes using different satellite images over one of our neighboring planet Mars. EPOCH is compared with state-of-the-art techniques, and found to have closest consensus with ground truth data. The proposed approach achieved an overall accuracy of 90.9% with kappa value of 0.81.