Spatially Coherent Clustering Based on Orthogonal Nonnegative Matrix Factorization

Abstract: Classical approaches in cluster analysis are typically based on a feature space analysis. However, many applications lead to datasets with additional spatial information and a ground truth with spatially coherent classes, which will not necessarily be reconstructed well by standard clustering methods. Motivated by applications in hyperspectral imaging, we introduce in this work clustering models based on orthogonal nonnegative matrix factorization, which include an additional total variation (TV) regularization procedure on the cluster membership matrix to enforce the needed spatial coherence in the clusters. We propose several approaches with different optimization techniques, where the TV regularization is either performed as a subsequent postprocessing step or included into the clustering algorithm. Finally, we provide a numerical evaluation of all proposed methods on a hyperspectral dataset obtained from a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation imaging measurement, which leads to significantly better clustering results compared to classical clustering models.