An efficient shadow detection method for high resolution satellite images

Abstract

The problem of shadowing is particularly significant in high-resolution satellite imaging (HRSI) which causes either a reduction or total loss of information in the image. The research on segmenting shadow regions is of great significance for image interpretation and it is a supportive tool to detect manmade structures. This paper proposes a solution to the problem of automatic extraction of shadow features in color satellite images with high spatial resolution. The algorithm separates shadow from non-shadow by considering the spatial properties of the segmented regions. Experiments are executed on high resolution satellite images, and the results confirm the validity of the proposed method.