Maize Seed Variety Classification Using the Integration of Spectral and Image Features Combined with Feature Transformation Based on Hyperspectral Imaging

Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) technology has been extensively studied in the classification of seed variety. A novel procedure for the classification of maize seed varieties based on HSI was proposed in this study. The optimal wavelengths for the classification of maize seed varieties were selected using the successive projections algorithm (SPA) to improve the acquiring and processing speed of HSI. Subsequently, spectral and imaging features were extracted from regions of interest of the hyperspectral images. Principle component analysis and multidimensional scaling were then introduced to transform/reduce the classification features for overcoming the risk of dimension disaster caused by the use of a large number of features. Finally, the integrating features were used to develop a least squares-support vector machines (LS-SVM) model. The LS-SVM model, using the integration of spectral and image features combined with feature transformation methods, achieved more than 90% of test accuracy, which was better than the 83.68% obtained by model using the original spectral and image features, and much higher than the 76.18% obtained by the model only using the spectral features. This procedure provides a possible way to apply the multispectral imaging system to classify seed varieties with high accuracy.