Semantic Indexing for Image Retrieval Using Description Logics

Abstract

We propose an approach based on description logics for the semantic indexing and retrieval of images containing complex objects. We aim at providing a conventional content-based image retrieval system, which adopts low-level features extracted with image analysis, the ability to deal with the complex structure of objects in real images. Starting from a region based segmentation of images we provide a syntax for the description of complex objects as composition of simpler “basic” shapes. An extensional semantics allows to define reasoning services, such as retrieval, classification, and subsumption. A prototype system has been implemented to substantiate our ideas. First, encouraging, results are presented and discussed here.