Lect in Artificial Intelligence/Data Sci
Computing Science and Mathematics - Division 4X6, Cottrell Building, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA
I am a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Data Science/Artificial Intelligence at the University of Stirling. I received the Ph.D. degree in physics with a specialisation in radar remote sensing and data analytics from the UiT—The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway, in 2013.
Since 2014, I continued my research in radar remote sensing and machine learning as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow with the UiT—The Arctic University of Norway, the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, and the University of Stirling.
I have been a Visiting Scientist with the Signal Processing and Telecommunications Laboratory, Department of Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy, in 2011, and a Visiting Researcher with the German Geoscience Center (GFZ), Potsdom, Germany, in 2008.
I am also a Council Member of the Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society (RSPSoc), U.K.
My primary research interests revolve around the intersection of radar remote sensing and statistical modelling/machine learning, with a particular focus on the applications in environmental monitoring.
RSPSoc 2020 - The President's Prize
Awarded for the best oral presentation at RSPSoc2020
RSPSoc 2023- The President's Prize
Awarded for the best oral presentation at RSPSoc2023
Monitoring biodiversity and soil health with AI and EO
Big Data Analytics with SAR for Forestry Applications
SAGES Administrator
Change detection in multilook polarimetric SAR imagery with hoteling lawley trace and determinant ratio test statistics
https://polinsar-biomass2023.esa.int/agenda/
Machine learning-based detection and mapping of water hyacinth growth cycles in Anzali international wetland using Sentinel-2 time series
https://www.rspsoc.org.uk/…er_16_Akbari.jpg
Multimodal remote sensing for monitoring water hyacinth
SAGES Administrator
Senior Member
IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)
Coherent change detection algorithms in several polarimetric synthetic aperture radar data for deforestation mapping
University of Stirling
Hedgerow mapping and detection using deep learning methods in very high resolution remote sensing imagery
University of Stirling and University College Dublin (UCD)
An AI-based approach for improving brain tumor diagnosis from MRI images
University of Stirling
Deep learning techniques for vegetation mapping in multispectral drone imagery
University of Stirling
Heterogeneous change detection in SAR and optical Imagery
University of Stirling
Iceberg detection and characterisation in polarimetric synthetic aperture radar data
University of Stirling
Temporal convolutional neural network for the land cover and crop classification in multi-temporal synthetic aperture radar data
University of Stirling
My research interests lie at the intersection between machine learning and Earth Observation for environmental monitoring. Specifically, I have focused on the applications of Interferometric SAR (InSAR) for land subsidence monitoring and Polarimetric SAR (PolSAR) for target detection, change detection, and land cover classification. Additionally, my work involves developing novel methods in machine learning, signal and Image processing, and data analytics for multidimensional SAR data. Furthermore, I am actively engaged in the field of big Earth data analytics with SAR for forestry, glaciology, and agriculture monitoring. In summary my research is focused on the following area:
• Artificial intelligence for Earth Observation (AI4EO)
• Big EO data analytics
• Advanced InSAR and PolSAR techniques for environmental monitoring.
I am a member of the Data Science and Intelligent Systems (DAIS) Earth and Planetary Observation Research Groups. I am also a member of the Stirling Vision and Image Processing Group (SVIP).
Multimodal data analysis for monitoring invasive aquatic weeds in India
PI: Dr Savi Maharaj
Funded by: Royal Academy of Engineering
–
Review
Hedgerows Monitoring in Remote Sensing: A Comprehensive Review
Pirbasti MA, McArdle G & Akbari V (2024) Hedgerows Monitoring in Remote Sensing: A Comprehensive Review. IEEE Access, 12, pp. 156184 - 156207. https://doi.org/10.1109/access.2024.3485512
Article
Mapping and Monitoring Of Water Hyacinth In Lake Victoria Using Polarimetric Radar Data
Felix IK, Armando M, Simpson MD, Vahid A, Silva TSF, Datta A, Nagendra PG, Pranuthi G & Srikanth R (2024) Mapping and Monitoring Of Water Hyacinth In Lake Victoria Using Polarimetric Radar Data. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing. https://doi.org/10.1109/jstars.2024.3476938
Conference Paper (published)
Monitoring temporal trends to assess infestation of water hyacinth in Lake Victoria using PolSAR
Isundwa F, Simpson M, Akbari V, Datta A, Nagendra P, Pranuthi G, Silva T, Srikanth R & Marino A (2024) Monitoring temporal trends to assess infestation of water hyacinth in Lake Victoria using PolSAR. In: EUSAR 2024; 15th European Conference on Synthetic Aperture Radar, Munich, 23.04.2024-26.04.2024. VDE. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/10659438
Article
Asghari Beirami B, Alizadeh Pirbasti M & Akbari V (2024) SF-ICNN: Spectral–Fractal Iterative Convolutional Neural Network for Classification of Hyperspectral Images. Applied Sciences, 14 (16), Art. No.: 7361. https://doi.org/10.3390/app14167361
Article
Pirbasti MA, Akbari V, Bhowmik D, Maharaj S & Marino A (2024) Detection and Mapping of Water Hyacinth Growth Cycle in Anzali International Wetland using Sentinel-2 Time Series. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, 17, pp. 13346 - 13357. https://doi.org/10.1109/jstars.2024.3427002
Conference Paper (unpublished)
Monitoring Water Hyacinth Growth Stages Using Machine Learning Techniques in Sentinel-2 Time Series
Pirbasti MA & Akbari V (2024) Monitoring Water Hyacinth Growth Stages Using Machine Learning Techniques in Sentinel-2 Time Series. IGARSS 2024 - 2024 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Athens, Greece, 07.07.2024-12.07.2024. https://doi.org/10.1109/igarss53475.2024.10641219
Conference Paper (unpublished)
Advanced Statistical Modelling of Polarimetric SAR Data for Land Cover Change Detection Analysis
Akbari V, Bouhlel N & Méric S (2024) Advanced Statistical Modelling of Polarimetric SAR Data for Land Cover Change Detection Analysis. IGARSS 2024 - 2024 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Athens, Greece, 07.07.2024-12.07.2024. https://doi.org/10.1109/igarss53475.2024.10642175
Article
Bailey J, Akbari V, Liu T, Lauknes TR & Marino A (2024) Iceberg Detection With RADARSAT-2 Quad-Polarimetric C-Band SAR in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard—Comparison With a Ground-Based Radar. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, 17, pp. 5790-5803. https://doi.org/10.1109/jstars.2024.3369392
Article
Fractal-Based Ensemble Classification System for Hyperspectral Images
Beirami BA, Pirbasti MA & Akbari V (2023) Fractal-Based Ensemble Classification System for Hyperspectral Images. IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters, 20, Art. No.: 5512405. https://doi.org/10.1109/lgrs.2023.3330608
Conference Paper (unpublished)
Using Polsar to Assess Temporal Trends of Water Hyacinth Infestation in Lake Victoria
Isundwa FK, Simpson M, Akbari V, Datta A, Nagendra P, Pranuthi G, Silva T, Rupavatharam S & Marino A (2023) Using Polsar to Assess Temporal Trends of Water Hyacinth Infestation in Lake Victoria. 2023 IEEE India Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (InGARSS), Bangalore, India, 10.12.2023-13.12.2023. https://doi.org/10.1109/ingarss59135.2023.10490369
Article
Change Detection in Multilook Polarimetric SAR Imagery With Determinant Ratio Test Statistic
Bouhlel N, Akbari V & Meric S (2022) Change Detection in Multilook Polarimetric SAR Imagery With Determinant Ratio Test Statistic. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 60, Art. No.: 5200515. https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2020.3043517
Article
Akbari V & Solberg S (2022) Clear-Cut Detection and Mapping Using Sentinel-1 Backscatter Coefficient and Short-Term Interferometric Coherence Time Series. IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters, 19, Art. No.: 4006405. https://doi.org/10.1109/lgrs.2020.3039875
Article
Bouhlel N, Akbari V, Meric S & Rousseau D (2022) Multivariate Statistical Modeling for Multitemporal SAR Change Detection Using Wavelet Transforms and Integrating Subband Dependencies. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 60. https://doi.org/10.1109/tgrs.2022.3215783
Conference Paper (unpublished)
Akbari V, Datta A, Bhowmik D, Marino A, Kumar S, Rupavatharam S, Prabhu GN, Kleczkowski A, R. P. Sujeetha JA & Maharaj S (2022) Multitemporal multispectral drone imagery for water hyacinth mapping in Patancheru lake, Hyderabad, India. Bostater CR (Editor) & Neyt X (Editor) Remote Sensing of the Ocean, Sea Ice, Coastal Waters, and Large Water Regions 2022, Berlin, Germany, 05.09.2022-08.09.2022. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2639004
Article
Detecting Water Hyacinth Infestation in Kuttanad, India, Using Dual-Pol Sentinel-1 SAR Imagery
Simpson MD, Akbari V, Marino A, Prabhu GN, Bhowmik D, Rupavatharam S, Datta A, Kleczkowski A, Sujeetha JARP, Gunjotikar Anantrao G, Kampurath Poduvattil V, Kumar S, Maharaj S & Hunter PD (2022) Detecting Water Hyacinth Infestation in Kuttanad, India, Using Dual-Pol Sentinel-1 SAR Imagery. Remote Sensing, 14 (12), Art. No.: 2845. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14122845
Conference Paper (published)
Comparison of target detectors to identify icebergs in Quad- Polarimetric SAR Alos-2 images
Bailey J, Marino A & Akbari V (2021) Comparison of target detectors to identify icebergs in Quad- Polarimetric SAR Alos-2 images. In: International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS). 2021 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium IGARSS, Brussels, Belgium, 11.07.2021-16.07.2021. Piscataway, NJ, USA: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. pp. 5223-5226. https://doi.org/10.1109/IGARSS47720.2021.9554230
Article
Akbari V, Solberg S & Puliti S (2021) Multitemporal Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 Images for Characterization and Discrimination of Young Forest Stands Under Regeneration in Norway. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, 14, pp. 5049-5063. https://doi.org/10.1109/JSTARS.2021.3073101
Conference Paper (published)
Determining Iceberg Scattering Mechanisms in Greenland Using Quad Pol ALOS-2 SAR Data
Bailey J, Marino A & Akbari V (2021) Determining Iceberg Scattering Mechanisms in Greenland Using Quad Pol ALOS-2 SAR Data. In: 2021 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium IGARSS. IGARSS 2021 - 2021 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Brussels, Belgium, 11.07.2021-16.07.2021. Piscataway, NJ, USA: IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/igarss47720.2021.9553540
Conference Paper (published)
Akbari V, Simpson M, Maharaj S, Marino A, Bhowmik D, Prabhu GN, Rupavatharam S, Datta A, Kleczkowski A & Sujeetha JARP (2021) Monitoring Aquatic Weeds In Indian Wetlands Using Multitemporal Remote Sensing Data With Machine Learning Techniques. In: 2021 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium IGARSS. International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), Belgium, 12.07.2021-16.07.2021. Piscataway, NJ, USA: IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/IGARSS47720.2021.9553207
Article
Bailey J, Marino A & Akbari V (2021) Comparison of Target Detectors to Identify Icebergs in Quad-Polarimetric L-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar Data. Remote Sensing, 13 (9), Art. No.: 1753. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13091753
Review
Monitoring the spread of water hyacinth (Pontederia crassipes): challenges and future developments
Datta A, Maharaj S, Prabhu GN, Bhowmik D, Marino A, Akbari V, Rupavatharam S, Sujeetha JAR, Anantrao GG, Poduvattil VK, Kumar S & Kleczkowski A (2021) Monitoring the spread of water hyacinth (Pontederia crassipes): challenges and future developments. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9, Art. No.: 631338. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.631338
Article
Bagheri M, Dehghani M, Esmaeily A & Akbari V (2019) Assessment of land subsidence using interferometric synthetic aperture radar time series analysis and artificial neural network in a geospatial information system: case study of Rafsanjan Plain. Journal of Applied Remote Sensing, 13 (04), p. 1. https://doi.org/10.1117/1.jrs.13.044530
Article
Najafi A, Hasanlou M & Akbari V (2019) Change detection using distance-based algorithms between synthetic aperture radar polarimetric decompositions. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 40 (15), pp. 6084-6097. https://doi.org/10.1080/01431161.2019.1587202
Article
A Gaussian random field model for de-speckling of multi-polarized Synthetic Aperture Radar data
Mahdianpari M, Motagh M, Akbari V, Mohammadimanesh F & Salehi B (2019) A Gaussian random field model for de-speckling of multi-polarized Synthetic Aperture Radar data. Advances in Space Research, 64 (1), pp. 64-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2019.03.013
Article
Ghanbari M & Akbari V (2018) Unsupervised Change Detection in Polarimetric SAR Data With the Hotelling-Lawley Trace Statistic and Minimum-Error Thresholding. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, 11 (12), pp. 4551-4562. https://doi.org/10.1109/jstars.2018.2882412
Conference Paper (published)
Validation of SAR Iceberg Detection with Ground-Based Radar and GPS Measurements
Akbari V, Lauknes TR, Rouyet L, Negrel J & Eltoft T (2018) Validation of SAR Iceberg Detection with Ground-Based Radar and GPS Measurements. In: IGARSS 2018 - 2018 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Valencia, 22.07.2018-27.07.2018. New Jersey: IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/igarss.2018.8517286
Article
Iceberg Detection in Open and Ice-Infested Waters Using C-Band Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar
Akbari V & Brekke C (2018) Iceberg Detection in Open and Ice-Infested Waters Using C-Band Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 56 (1), pp. 407-421. https://doi.org/10.1109/tgrs.2017.2748394
Article
Najafi A, Hasanlou M & Akbari V (2017) Land cover changes detection in polarimetric SAR data using algebra, similarity and distance based methods. The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, XLII-4/W4, pp. 195--200. https://isprs-archives.copernicus.org/articles/XLII-4-W4/195/2017/; https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-4-W4-195-2017
Conference Paper (unpublished)
Iceberg detection in open water and sea ice using C-band radar polarimetry
Akbari V & Brekke C (2017) Iceberg detection in open water and sea ice using C-band radar polarimetry. 2017 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), Fort Worth, TX, 23.07.2017-28.07.2017. https://doi.org/10.1109/igarss.2017.8127449
Conference Paper (published)
Subaperture analysis of polarimetric SAR data for iceberg detection
Akbari V, Doulgeris AP & Brekke C (2016) Subaperture analysis of polarimetric SAR data for iceberg detection. In: IGARSS 2016 - 2016 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Beijing, China, 10.07.2016-15.07.2016. New Jersey: IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/igarss.2016.7730480
Article
Polarimetric SAR Change Detection With the Complex Hotelling–Lawley Trace Statistic
Akbari V, Anfinsen SN, Doulgeris AP, Eltoft T, Moser G & Serpico SB (2016) Polarimetric SAR Change Detection With the Complex Hotelling–Lawley Trace Statistic. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 54 (7), pp. 3953-3966. https://doi.org/10.1109/tgrs.2016.2532320
Conference Paper (unpublished)
Ghanbari M & Akbari V (2015) Generalized minimum-error thresholding for unsupervised change detection from multilook polarimetric SAR data. IGARSS 2015 - 2015 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Milan, Italy, 26.07.2015-31.07.2015. https://doi.org/10.1109/igarss.2015.7326153
Conference Paper (unpublished)
A change detector for polarimetric SAR data based on the relaxed Wishart distribution
Akbari V, Anfinsen SN, Doulgeris AP & Eltoft T (2015) A change detector for polarimetric SAR data based on the relaxed Wishart distribution. 2015 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), Milan, 26.07.2015-31.07.2015. https://doi.org/10.1109/igarss.2015.7326653
Article
Monitoring Glacier Changes Using Multitemporal Multipolarization SAR Images
Akbari V, Doulgeris AP & Eltoft T (2014) Monitoring Glacier Changes Using Multitemporal Multipolarization SAR Images. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 52 (6), pp. 3729-3741. https://doi.org/10.1109/tgrs.2013.2275203
Conference Paper (published)
Akbari V, Anfinsen SN, Doulgeris AP & Eltoft T (2014) The Hotelling-Lawley trace statistic for change detection in polarimetric SAR data under the complex Wishart distribution. In: IGARSS 2013 - 2013 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Melbourne, Australia, 21.07.2013-26.07.2013. New York: IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/igarss.2013.6723750
Article
Akbari V, Doulgeris AP, Moser G, Eltoft T, Anfinsen SN & Serpico SB (2013) A Textural–Contextual Model for Unsupervised Segmentation of Multipolarization Synthetic Aperture Radar Images. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 51 (4), pp. 2442-2453. https://doi.org/10.1109/tgrs.2012.2211367
Conference Paper (published)
MahdianPari M, Motagh M & Akbari V (2013) Speckle reduction and restoration of synthetic aperture radar data with an adoptive Markov random field model. In: IGARSS 2012 - 2012 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Munich, 22.07.2012-27.07.2012. New Jersey: IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/igarss.2012.6351584
Conference Paper (published)
Automatic PolSAR segmentation with the u-distribution and Markov Random Fields
Doulgeris AP, Akbari V & Eltoft T (2012) Automatic PolSAR segmentation with the u-distribution and Markov Random Fields. In: EUSAR 2012; 9th European Conference on Synthetic Aperture Radar, Nuremberg, 23.04.2012-26.04.2012. VDE, pp. 183-186. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/6217009
Conference Paper (published)
The impact of terrain correction of polarimetric SAR data on glacier change detection
Akbari V, Larsen Y, Doulgeris AP & Eltoft T (2012) The impact of terrain correction of polarimetric SAR data on glacier change detection. In: IGARSS 2012 - 2012 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Munich, Germany, 22.07.2012-27.07.2012. New Jersey: IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/igarss.2012.6352456
Conference Paper (published)
Alioghli Fazel M, Homayouni S, Akbari V & Mahdian Pari M (2012) Speckle reduction of SAR images using curvelet and wavelet transforms based on spatial features characteristics. In: IGARSS 2012 - 2012 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Munich, 22.07.2012-27.07.2012. New Jersey: IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/igarss.2012.6351078
Article
Akbari V & Motagh M (2012) Improved Ground Subsidence Monitoring Using Small Baseline SAR Interferograms and a Weighted Least Squares Inversion Algorithm. IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters, 9 (3), pp. 437-441. https://doi.org/10.1109/lgrs.2011.2170952
Conference Paper (published)
A K-Wishart Markov random field model for clustering of polarimetric SAR imagery
Akbari V, Moser G, Doulgeris AP, Anfinsen SN, Eltoft T & Serpico SB (2011) A K-Wishart Markov random field model for clustering of polarimetric SAR imagery. In: IGARSS 2011 - 2011 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 24.07.2011-29.07.2011. New Jersey: IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/igarss.2011.6049317
• Deep Learning for Vision and NLP
• Radar Remote Sensing for Environmental Monitoring
• Systems
• Representing and Manipulating Data
• Machine Learning
I also supervise dissertations at honours, masters and PhD levels.
Associate Fellowship of Advance HE
I hold Associate Fellowship of Advance HE
