Transformer-Driven Active Transfer Learning for Cross-Hyperspectral Image Classification

Hyperspectral image (HSI) classification presents inherent challenges due to high spectral dimensionality, significant domain shifts, and limited availability of labeled data. To address these issues, we propose a novel Active Transfer Learning (ATL) framework built upon a spatial-spectral transformer (SST) backbone. The framework integrates multistage transfer learning with an uncertainty-diversity-driven active learning mechanism that strategically selects highly informative and diverse samples for annotation, thereby significantly reducing labeling costs and mitigating sample redundancy. A dynamic layer freezing strategy is introduced to enhance transferability and computational efficiency, enabling selective adaptation of model layers based on domain shift characteristics. Furthermore, we incorporate a self-calibrated attention mechanism that dynamically refines spatial and spectral weights during adaptation, guided by uncertainty-aware feedback. A diversity-promoting sampling strategy ensures broad spectral coverage among selected samples, preventing overfitting to specific classes. Extensive experiments on benchmark cross-domain HSI datasets demonstrate that the proposed SST–ATL framework achieves superior classification performance compared to conventional approaches.