MFFP-Net: Building Segmentation in Remote Sensing Images via Multi-Scale Feature Fusion and Foreground Perception Enhancement

The accurate segmentation of small target buildings in high-resolution remote sensing images remains challenging due to two critical issues: (1) small target buildings often occupy few pixels in complex backgrounds, leading to frequent background confusion, and (2) significant intra-class variance c...

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Main Authors: Huajie Xu, Qiukai Huang, Haikun Liao, Ganxiao Nong, Wei Wei
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Remote Sensing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/11/1875
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author Huajie Xu
Qiukai Huang
Haikun Liao
Ganxiao Nong
Wei Wei
author_facet Huajie Xu
Qiukai Huang
Haikun Liao
Ganxiao Nong
Wei Wei
author_sort Huajie Xu
collection DOAJ
description The accurate segmentation of small target buildings in high-resolution remote sensing images remains challenging due to two critical issues: (1) small target buildings often occupy few pixels in complex backgrounds, leading to frequent background confusion, and (2) significant intra-class variance complicates feature representation compared to conventional semantic segmentation tasks. To address these challenges, we propose a novel Multi-Scale Feature Fusion and Foreground Perception Enhancement Network (MFFP-Net). This framework introduces three key innovations: (1) a Multi-Scale Feature Fusion (MFF) module that hierarchically aggregates shallow features through cross-level connections to enhance fine-grained detail preservation, (2) a Foreground Perception Enhancement (FPE) module that establishes pixel-wise affinity relationships within foreground regions to mitigate intra-class variance effects, and (3) a Dual-Path Attention (DPA) mechanism combining parallel global and local attention pathways to jointly capture structural details and long-range contextual dependencies. Experimental results demonstrate that the IoU of the proposed method achieves improvements of 0.44%, 0.98% and 0.61% compared to mainstream state-of-the-art methods on the WHU Building, Massachusetts Building, and Inria Aerial Image Labeling datasets, respectively, validating its effectiveness in handling small targets and intra-class variance while maintaining robustness in complex scenarios.
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series Remote Sensing
spelling doaj-art-f1a75a981bb447bf8c331ed82645f0062025-08-20T02:22:59ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922025-05-011711187510.3390/rs17111875MFFP-Net: Building Segmentation in Remote Sensing Images via Multi-Scale Feature Fusion and Foreground Perception EnhancementHuajie Xu0Qiukai Huang1Haikun Liao2Ganxiao Nong3Wei Wei4Guangxi Key Laboratory of Multimedia Communications and Network Technology, School of Computer and Electronic Information, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, ChinaGuangxi Key Laboratory of Multimedia Communications and Network Technology, School of Computer and Electronic Information, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, ChinaGuangxi Key Laboratory of Multimedia Communications and Network Technology, School of Computer and Electronic Information, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, ChinaGuangxi Key Laboratory of Multimedia Communications and Network Technology, School of Computer and Electronic Information, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, ChinaSchool of Computer Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430070, ChinaThe accurate segmentation of small target buildings in high-resolution remote sensing images remains challenging due to two critical issues: (1) small target buildings often occupy few pixels in complex backgrounds, leading to frequent background confusion, and (2) significant intra-class variance complicates feature representation compared to conventional semantic segmentation tasks. To address these challenges, we propose a novel Multi-Scale Feature Fusion and Foreground Perception Enhancement Network (MFFP-Net). This framework introduces three key innovations: (1) a Multi-Scale Feature Fusion (MFF) module that hierarchically aggregates shallow features through cross-level connections to enhance fine-grained detail preservation, (2) a Foreground Perception Enhancement (FPE) module that establishes pixel-wise affinity relationships within foreground regions to mitigate intra-class variance effects, and (3) a Dual-Path Attention (DPA) mechanism combining parallel global and local attention pathways to jointly capture structural details and long-range contextual dependencies. Experimental results demonstrate that the IoU of the proposed method achieves improvements of 0.44%, 0.98% and 0.61% compared to mainstream state-of-the-art methods on the WHU Building, Massachusetts Building, and Inria Aerial Image Labeling datasets, respectively, validating its effectiveness in handling small targets and intra-class variance while maintaining robustness in complex scenarios.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/11/1875remote sensingbuilding segmentationfeature fusionforeground perceptiondual-path attention
spellingShingle Huajie Xu
Qiukai Huang
Haikun Liao
Ganxiao Nong
Wei Wei
MFFP-Net: Building Segmentation in Remote Sensing Images via Multi-Scale Feature Fusion and Foreground Perception Enhancement
Remote Sensing
remote sensing
building segmentation
feature fusion
foreground perception
dual-path attention
title MFFP-Net: Building Segmentation in Remote Sensing Images via Multi-Scale Feature Fusion and Foreground Perception Enhancement
title_full MFFP-Net: Building Segmentation in Remote Sensing Images via Multi-Scale Feature Fusion and Foreground Perception Enhancement
title_fullStr MFFP-Net: Building Segmentation in Remote Sensing Images via Multi-Scale Feature Fusion and Foreground Perception Enhancement
title_full_unstemmed MFFP-Net: Building Segmentation in Remote Sensing Images via Multi-Scale Feature Fusion and Foreground Perception Enhancement
title_short MFFP-Net: Building Segmentation in Remote Sensing Images via Multi-Scale Feature Fusion and Foreground Perception Enhancement
title_sort mffp net building segmentation in remote sensing images via multi scale feature fusion and foreground perception enhancement
topic remote sensing
building segmentation
feature fusion
foreground perception
dual-path attention
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/11/1875
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AT haikunliao mffpnetbuildingsegmentationinremotesensingimagesviamultiscalefeaturefusionandforegroundperceptionenhancement
AT ganxiaonong mffpnetbuildingsegmentationinremotesensingimagesviamultiscalefeaturefusionandforegroundperceptionenhancement
AT weiwei mffpnetbuildingsegmentationinremotesensingimagesviamultiscalefeaturefusionandforegroundperceptionenhancement