Transformer models have achieved great results in the field of computer vision over the past 2 years, drawing attention from within the field of remote sensing. However, there are still relatively few studies on this model in the field of remote sensing. Which method is more suitable for remote-sensing segmentation? In particular, how do different transformer models perform in the face of high-spatial resolution and the multispectral resolution of remote-sensing images? To explore these questions, this paper presents a comprehensive comparative analysis of three mainstream transformer models, including the segmentation transformer (SETRnet), SwinUnet, and TransUnet, by evaluating three aspects: a visual analysis of feature-segmentation results, accuracy, and training time. The experimental results show that the transformer structure has obvious advantages for the feature-extraction ability of large-scale remote-sensing data sets and ground objects, but the segmentation performance of different transfer structures in different scales of remote-sensing data sets is also very different. SwinUnet exhibits better global semantic interaction and pixel-level segmentation prediction on the large-scale Potsdam data set, and the SwinUnet model has the highest accuracy metrics for KAPPA, MIoU, and OA in the Potsdam data set, at 76.47%, 63.62%, and 85.01%, respectively. TransUnet has better segmentation results in the small-scale Vaihingen data set, and the three accuracy metrics of KAPPA, MIoU, and OA are the highest, at 80.54%, 56.25%, and 85.55%, respectively. TransUnet is better able to handle the edges and details of feature segmentation thanks to the network structure together built by its transformer and convolutional neural networks (CNNs). Therefore, TransUnet segmentation accuracy is higher when using a small-scale Vaihingen data set. Compared with SwinUnet and TransUnet, the segmentation performance of SETRnet in different scales of remote-sensing data sets is not ideal, so SETRnet is not suitable for the research task of remote-sensing image segmentation. In addition, this paper discusses the reasons for the performance differences between transformer models and discusses the differences between transformer models and CNN. This study further promotes the application of transformer models in remote-sensing image segmentation, improves the understanding of transformer models, and helps relevant researchers to select a more appropriate transformer model or model improvement method for remote-sensing image segmentation.

The performance of deep neural networks depends on the accuracy of labeled samples, as they usually contain label noise. This study examines the semantic segmentation of remote sensing images that include label noise and proposes an anti-label-noise network framework, termed Labeled Noise Robust Network in Remote Sensing Image Semantic Segmentation (NRN-RSSEG), to combat label noise. The algorithm combines three main components: network, attention mechanism, and a noise-robust loss function. Three different noise rates (containing both symmetric and asymmetric noise) were simulated to test the noise resistance of the network. Validation was performed in the Vaihingen region of the ISPRS Vaihingen 2D semantic labeling dataset, and the performance of the network was evaluated by comparing the NRN-RSSEG with the original U-Net model. The results show that NRN-RSSEG maintains a high accuracy on both clean and noisy datasets. Specifically, NRN-RSSEG outperforms UNET in terms of PA, MPA, Kappa, Mean_F1, and FWIoU in the presence of noisy datasets, and as the noise rate increases, each performance of UNET shows a decreasing trend while the performance of NRN-RSSEG decreases slowly and some performances show an increasing trend. At a noise rate of 0.5, the PA (−6.14%), MPA (−4.27%) Kappa (−8.55%), Mean_F1 (−5.11%), and FWIOU (−9.75%) of UNET degrade faster; while the PA (−2.51%), Kappa (−3.33%), and FWIoU of NRN-RSSEG (−3.26) degraded more slowly, MPA (+1.41) and Mean_F1 (+2.69%) showed an increasing trend. Furthermore, comparing the proposed model with the baseline method, the results demonstrate that the proposed NRN-RSSEG anti-noise framework can effectively help the current segmentation model to overcome the adverse effects of noisy label training.