Change Detection: Discerning Real Changes from Noise on Planetscope Pairs of Images

Change detection on satellite image series is a much more complex problem than detecting changes in color or illumination. First, it is subject to common problems inherent to image series: images are generally not well aligned, changes in atmospheric conditions impact the colors and overall contrast of images, and clouds can partially or totally obstruct the areas of interest. Secondly, noise in satellite images also causes changes in images that can disrupt change detection algorithms, especially on low contrast areas. In this paper, we study the noise characteristics of PlanetScope images and their impact on change detection. We then present a general algorithm, published online, that performs change detection robust to noise.