Neural network algorithm based on reinforcement learning for vectorization of aerial and space images
Abstract. This paper presents a novel reinforcement learning (RL) framework for automated vectorization of high-resolution aerial imagery, addressing key challenges in geospatial analysis through adaptive feature extraction and sequential decision-making. Our hybrid architecture combines a modified ResNet-50 backbone with atrous spatial pyramid pooling (ASPP) for multi-scale feature extraction and bidirectional GRUs for spatial context modeling, integrated with a dueling double DQN agent that optimizes vectorization through reward-driven policy learning. The proposed method demonstrates significant improvements over conventional approaches, achieving about 10% increase in mean Intersection-over-Union (mIoU) on the CrowdAI Mapping Challenge dataset while reducing processing time by 29% through optimized RL-based decision sequences. A multi-component reward system balances geometric accuracy (boundary F1-score: 0.79), topological correctness (94.1% Cycle Consistency and 93.4% Junction Accuracy), and computational efficiency, enabling robust performance across diverse urban and rural landscapes. This work establishes a new paradigm for adaptive geospatial vectorization that combines deep learning’s representational power with RL’s sequential optimization capabilities.
Authors
- Vladimir Alexandrovich Knyaz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4466-244X)
- Vladimir Vladimirovich Kniaz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2912-9986)
- Anton V. Emelyanov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4153-6174)
Institutions
- Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (RU)
- State Scientific Research Institute of Aviation Systems (RU)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The international archives of the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences/International archives of the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences
- Published
- 2025-09-04
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-xlviii-2-w9-2025-57-2025
- Primary Topic
- Remote Sensing and Land Use
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00