Yadav, P.P.Shetty, A.Raghavendra, B.S.Narasimhadhan, A.V.2026-02-062021International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), 2021, Vol.2021-July, , p. 3845-384821536996https://doi.org/10.1109/IGARSS47720.2021.9553178https://idr.nitk.ac.in/handle/123456789/30250Endmember extraction is one of the necessary steps in hyperspectral data investigation. The eventual objective of hyperspectral data processing and analysis is to improve the accuracy of target identification, and the precise identification of endmembers is a challenging task. The several of the algorithms proposed for endmember extraction require knowledge on the targets for appropriate initialization. The endmember extraction algorithms (EEAs) rely on endmember initialization algorithms (EIAs) and in turn many EIAs also require the knowledge on targets of interest to begin the search process effectively. A comprehensive study on targets of interest to begin the search process is due expected. Therefore, in this paper, the concept of extreme or boundary pixels is explored to identify the targets of interest and the darkest pixel (a pixel with minimum length) is identified and proposed as a new target of interest to begin the endmember search process. The utility/influence of the proposed target of interest, i.e. the darkest pixel, is studied with that's of the brightest pixel (a pixel with maximum length) which has been in use as a popular target of interest for EIAs so far. An automatic target generation process (ATGP) and a similarity measures based endmember initialization algorithm (SMEIA) are adapted to test the proposed initialization strategy. The experimental results have revealed the usefulness of the darkest pixel as an additional target of interest in addition to the brightest pixel in searching for endmembers by EIAs. The strategy of choosing the darkest pixel enhanced the initial target knowledge and also improved the performance of the EIAs considerably. © 2021 IEEE.Endmember initializationExtreme or boundary pixelsTargets of interestThe brightest pixelThe darkest pixel