Image retrieval by shape and texture

Abstract

Effective image retrieval by content from database requires that visual image properties are used instead of textual labels to recover pictorial data. Retrieval by image similarity given a template image is particularly challenging. The difficulty is to derive a similarity measure that combines shape, grey level patterns and texture in a way that closely conforms to human perception. In this paper a system is presented which supports retrieval by image similarity based on elastic template matching. The template can be both a 1D template modeling the contour of an object, and a 2D template modeling a part of an image with a significant grey level pattern. The retrieval process is obtained as a continuous interaction by which the original query of the user can be refined or changed on the basis of the results provided by the system.