# Noise-Adaptive Regularization for Robust Multi-Label Remote Sensing Image Classification

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.08446 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.08446/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 32 of its 52 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 13 Jan 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 32)

- [MixMatch: A Holistic Approach to Semi-Supervised Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1905.02249/) (2019)
- [Co-teaching: Robust Training of Deep Neural Networks with Extremely Noisy Labels](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1804.06872/) (2018)
- [Generalized Cross Entropy Loss for Training Deep Neural Networks with Noisy Labels](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1805.07836/) (2018)
- [DivideMix: Learning with Noisy Labels as Semi-supervised Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2002.07394/) (2020)
- [MentorNet: Learning Data-Driven Curriculum for Very Deep Neural Networks on Corrupted Labels](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1712.05055/) (2017)
- [Robust Loss Functions under Label Noise for Deep Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1712.09482/) (2017)
- [Early-Learning Regularization Prevents Memorization of Noisy Labels](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2007.00151/) (2020)
- [Asymmetric Loss For Multi-Label Classification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2009.14119/) (2020)
- [AID: A Benchmark Dataset for Performance Evaluation of Aerial Scene Classification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1608.05167/) (2016)
- [Combating noisy labels by agreement: A joint training method with co-regularization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2003.02752/) (2020)
- [DeepGlobe 2018: A Challenge to Parse the Earth through Satellite Images](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1805.06561/) (2018)
- [BigEarthNet: A Large-Scale Benchmark Archive For Remote Sensing Image Understanding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1902.06148/) (2019)
- [Decoupling "when to update" from "how to update"](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.02613/) (2017)
- [Using Trusted Data to Train Deep Networks on Labels Corrupted by Severe Noise](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1802.05300/) (2018)
- [CleanNet: Transfer Learning for Scalable Image Classifier Training with Label Noise](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1711.07131/) (2017)
- [SELF: Learning to Filter Noisy Labels with Self-Ensembling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1910.01842/) (2019)
- [Learning from Noisy Labels with Distillation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1703.02391/) (2017)
- [Learning to Learn from Noisy Labeled Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.05214/) (2018)
- [CurriculumNet: Weakly Supervised Learning from Large-Scale Web Images](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1808.01097/) (2018)
- [Self-Adaptive Training: beyond Empirical Risk Minimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2002.10319/) (2020)
- [Learning a Deep ConvNet for Multi-label Classification with Partial Labels](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1902.09720/) (2019)
- [Deep Self-Learning From Noisy Labels](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1908.02160/) (2019)
- [Learning From Noisy Large-Scale Datasets With Minimal Supervision](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1701.01619/) (2017)
- [Collaborative Learning for Deep Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1805.11761/) (2018)
- [Contrast to Divide: Self-Supervised Pre-Training for Learning with Noisy Labels](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.13646/) (2021)
- [reBEN: Refined BigEarthNet Dataset for Remote Sensing Image Analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.03653/) (2024)
- [Relation Network for Multi-label Aerial Image Classification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1907.07274/) (2019)
- [On the Effects of Different Types of Label Noise in Multi-Label Remote Sensing Image Classification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.13975/) (2022)
- [Multi-Label Noise Robust Collaborative Learning for Remote Sensing Image Classification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2012.10715/) (2020)
- [Toward Robustness in Multi-label Classification: A Data Augmentation Strategy against Imbalance and Noise](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.07087/) (2023)

## Abstract (arXiv)

The development of reliable methods for multi-label classification (MLC) has become a prominent research direction in remote sensing (RS). As the scale of RS data continues to expand, annotation procedures increasingly rely on thematic products or crowdsourced procedures to reduce the cost of manual annotation. While cost-effective, these strategies often introduce multi-label noise in the form of partially incorrect annotations. In MLC, label noise arises as additive noise, subtractive noise, or a combination of both in the form of mixed noise. Previous work has largely overlooked this distinction and commonly treats noisy annotations as supervised signals, lacking mechanisms that explicitly adapt learning behavior to different noise types. To address this limitation, we propose NAR, a noise-adaptive regularization method that explicitly distinguishes between additive and subtractive noise within a semi-supervised learning framework. NAR employs a confidence-based label handling mechanism that dynamically retains label entries with high confidence, temporarily deactivates entries with moderate confidence, and corrects low confidence entries via flipping. This selective attenuation of supervision is integrated with early-learning regularization (ELR) to stabilize training and mitigate overfitting to corrupted labels. Experiments across additive, subtractive, and mixed noise scenarios demonstrate that NAR consistently improves robustness compared with existing methods. Performance improvements are most pronounced under subtractive and mixed noise, indicating that adaptive suppression and selective correction of noisy supervision provide an effective strategy for noise robust learning in RS MLC.