GOFENet: A Hybrid Transformer–CNN Network Integrating GEOBIA-Based Object Priors for Semantic Segmentation of Remote Sensing Images
Geographic object-based image analysis (GEOBIA) has demonstrated substantial utility in remote sensing tasks. However, its integration with deep learning remains largely confined to image-level classification. This is primarily due to the irregular shapes and fragmented boundaries of segmented objec...
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MDPI AG
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/15/2652 |
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| author | Tao He Jianyu Chen Delu Pan |
| author_facet | Tao He Jianyu Chen Delu Pan |
| author_sort | Tao He |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Geographic object-based image analysis (GEOBIA) has demonstrated substantial utility in remote sensing tasks. However, its integration with deep learning remains largely confined to image-level classification. This is primarily due to the irregular shapes and fragmented boundaries of segmented objects, which limit its applicability in semantic segmentation. While convolutional neural networks (CNNs) excel at local feature extraction, they inherently struggle to capture long-range dependencies. In contrast, Transformer-based models are well suited for global context modeling but often lack fine-grained local detail. To overcome these limitations, we propose GOFENet (Geo-Object Feature Enhanced Network)—a hybrid semantic segmentation architecture that effectively fuses object-level priors into deep feature representations. GOFENet employs a dual-encoder design combining CNN and Swin Transformer architectures, enabling multi-scale feature fusion through skip connections to preserve both local and global semantics. An auxiliary branch incorporating cascaded atrous convolutions is introduced to inject information of segmented objects into the learning process. Furthermore, we develop a cross-channel selection module (CSM) for refined channel-wise attention, a feature enhancement module (FEM) to merge global and local representations, and a shallow–deep feature fusion module (SDFM) to integrate pixel- and object-level cues across scales. Experimental results on the GID and LoveDA datasets demonstrate that GOFENet achieves superior segmentation performance, with 66.02% <i>mIoU</i> and 51.92% <i>mIoU</i>, respectively. The model exhibits strong capability in delineating large-scale land cover features, producing sharper object boundaries and reducing classification noise, while preserving the integrity and discriminability of land cover categories. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-80df0aaed624404ca56b975503ed4f7f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj-art-80df0aaed624404ca56b975503ed4f7f2025-08-20T03:36:32ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922025-07-011715265210.3390/rs17152652GOFENet: A Hybrid Transformer–CNN Network Integrating GEOBIA-Based Object Priors for Semantic Segmentation of Remote Sensing ImagesTao He0Jianyu Chen1Delu Pan2Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, ChinaSouthern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, ChinaSouthern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, ChinaGeographic object-based image analysis (GEOBIA) has demonstrated substantial utility in remote sensing tasks. However, its integration with deep learning remains largely confined to image-level classification. This is primarily due to the irregular shapes and fragmented boundaries of segmented objects, which limit its applicability in semantic segmentation. While convolutional neural networks (CNNs) excel at local feature extraction, they inherently struggle to capture long-range dependencies. In contrast, Transformer-based models are well suited for global context modeling but often lack fine-grained local detail. To overcome these limitations, we propose GOFENet (Geo-Object Feature Enhanced Network)—a hybrid semantic segmentation architecture that effectively fuses object-level priors into deep feature representations. GOFENet employs a dual-encoder design combining CNN and Swin Transformer architectures, enabling multi-scale feature fusion through skip connections to preserve both local and global semantics. An auxiliary branch incorporating cascaded atrous convolutions is introduced to inject information of segmented objects into the learning process. Furthermore, we develop a cross-channel selection module (CSM) for refined channel-wise attention, a feature enhancement module (FEM) to merge global and local representations, and a shallow–deep feature fusion module (SDFM) to integrate pixel- and object-level cues across scales. Experimental results on the GID and LoveDA datasets demonstrate that GOFENet achieves superior segmentation performance, with 66.02% <i>mIoU</i> and 51.92% <i>mIoU</i>, respectively. The model exhibits strong capability in delineating large-scale land cover features, producing sharper object boundaries and reducing classification noise, while preserving the integrity and discriminability of land cover categories.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/15/2652multi-scale optimized segmentationland cover classificationglobal–local contextsemantic segmentationgeographic object-based image analysis |
| spellingShingle | Tao He Jianyu Chen Delu Pan GOFENet: A Hybrid Transformer–CNN Network Integrating GEOBIA-Based Object Priors for Semantic Segmentation of Remote Sensing Images Remote Sensing multi-scale optimized segmentation land cover classification global–local context semantic segmentation geographic object-based image analysis |
| title | GOFENet: A Hybrid Transformer–CNN Network Integrating GEOBIA-Based Object Priors for Semantic Segmentation of Remote Sensing Images |
| title_full | GOFENet: A Hybrid Transformer–CNN Network Integrating GEOBIA-Based Object Priors for Semantic Segmentation of Remote Sensing Images |
| title_fullStr | GOFENet: A Hybrid Transformer–CNN Network Integrating GEOBIA-Based Object Priors for Semantic Segmentation of Remote Sensing Images |
| title_full_unstemmed | GOFENet: A Hybrid Transformer–CNN Network Integrating GEOBIA-Based Object Priors for Semantic Segmentation of Remote Sensing Images |
| title_short | GOFENet: A Hybrid Transformer–CNN Network Integrating GEOBIA-Based Object Priors for Semantic Segmentation of Remote Sensing Images |
| title_sort | gofenet a hybrid transformer cnn network integrating geobia based object priors for semantic segmentation of remote sensing images |
| topic | multi-scale optimized segmentation land cover classification global–local context semantic segmentation geographic object-based image analysis |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/15/2652 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT taohe gofenetahybridtransformercnnnetworkintegratinggeobiabasedobjectpriorsforsemanticsegmentationofremotesensingimages AT jianyuchen gofenetahybridtransformercnnnetworkintegratinggeobiabasedobjectpriorsforsemanticsegmentationofremotesensingimages AT delupan gofenetahybridtransformercnnnetworkintegratinggeobiabasedobjectpriorsforsemanticsegmentationofremotesensingimages |