FuzzyVD: An algorithm that uses fuzzy logic and fuzzy systems to estimate the number of endmembers present in a hyperspectral image

The application fields of Hyperspectral Image (HI) analysis has been increasing in the last years because the availability of new devices and public data-sets. There are many published works demonstrating that it is possible to use hyperspectral imagery in order to detect targets and create material maps. Many of the proposed techniques require to have prior knowledge about the number of different materials present into the HI to be analyzed. This paper proposes a novel algorithm, FuzzyVD, to estimate the number of different materials in a given HI, which does not require parameters. The FuzzyVD algorithm provide a new approach to solve this problem and expands the application field of fuzzy logic into the HI analysis. This algorithm has been applied to real and synthetic images and the results conclude its robustness and dependability.