Low Saturation Confidence Distribution-based Test-Time Adaptation for Cross-Domain Remote Sensing Image Classification

TL;DR

This paper introduces LSCD-TTA, a novel test-time adaptation method for cross-domain remote sensing image classification that adapts models on the fly without source or target training data, balancing speed and accuracy.

Contribution

It is the first to explore source-free, data-efficient test-time adaptation specifically for cross-domain remote sensing image classification.

Findings

Enables rapid adaptation during inference without source data.

Balances class distribution and confidence to improve accuracy.

Reduces impact of low-confidence samples in later adaptation stages.

Abstract

Unsupervised Domain Adaptation (UDA) has emerged as a powerful technique for addressing the distribution shift across various Remote Sensing (RS) applications. However, most UDA approaches require access to source data, which may be infeasible due to data privacy or transmission constraints. Source-free Domain Adaptation addresses the absence of source data but usually demands a large amount of target domain data beforehand, hindering rapid adaptation and restricting their applicability in broader scenarios. In practical cross-domain RS image classification, achieving a balance between adaptation speed and accuracy is crucial. Therefore, we propose Low Saturation Confidence Distribution Test-Time Adaptation (LSCD-TTA), marketing the first attempt to explore Test-Time Adaptation for cross-domain RS image classification without requiring source or target training data. LSCD-TTA adapts a source-trained model on the fly using only the target test data encountered during inference, enabling immediate and efficient adaptation while maintaining high accuracy. Specifically, LSCD-TTA incorporates three optimization strategies tailored to the distribution characteristics of RS images. Firstly, weak-confidence softmax-entropy loss emphasizes categories that are more difficult to classify to address unbalanced class distribution. Secondly, balanced-categories softmax-entropy loss softens and balances the predicted probabilities to tackle the category diversity. Finally, low saturation distribution loss utilizes soft log-likelihood ratios to reduce the impact of low-confidence samples in the later stages of adaptation. By effectively combining these losses, LSCD-TTA enables rapid and accurate adaptation to the target domain for RS image classification.