Interactive object contour extraction for shape modeling

In this paper we present a semi-automatic segmentation approach suitable for extracting object contours as a precursor to 2D shape modeling. The approach is a modified and extended version of an existing state-of-the-art approach based on the concept of a Binary Partition Tree (BPT) [1]. The resulting segmentation tool facilitates quick and easy extraction of an object’s contour via a small amount of user interaction that is easy to perform, even in complicated scenes. Illustrative segmentation results are presented and the usefulness of the approach in generating object shape models is discussed

Inexpensive fusion methods for enhancing feature detection

Recent successful approaches to high-level feature detection in image and video data have treated the problem as a pattern classification task. These typically leverage the techniques learned from statistical machine learning, coupled with ensemble architectures that create multiple feature detection models. Once created, co-occurrence between learned features can be captured to further boost performance. At multiple stages throughout these frameworks, various pieces of evidence can be fused together in order to boost performance. These approaches whilst very successful are computationally expensive, and depending on the task, require the use of significant computational resources. In this paper we propose two fusion methods that aim to combine the output of an initial basic statistical machine learning approach with a lower-quality information source, in order to gain diversity in the classified results whilst requiring only modest computing resources. Our approaches, validated experimentally on TRECVid data, are designed to be complementary to existing frameworks and can be regarded as possible replacements for the more computationally expensive combination strategies used elsewhere

Digital Image Access & Retrieval

The 33th Annual Clinic on Library Applications of Data Processing, held at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in March of 1996, addressed the theme of "Digital Image Access & Retrieval." The papers from this conference cover a wide range of topics concerning digital imaging technology for visual resource collections. Papers covered three general areas: (1) systems, planning, and implementation; (2) automatic and semi-automatic indexing; and (3) preservation with the bulk of the conference focusing on indexing and retrieval.published or submitted for publicatio

An empirical study of inter-concept similarities in multimedia ontologies

Generic concept detection has been a widely studied topic in recent research on multimedia analysis and retrieval, but the issue of how to exploit the structure of a multimedia ontology as well as different inter-concept relations, has not received similar attention. In this paper, we present results from our empirical analysis of different types of similarity among semantic concepts in two multimedia ontologies, LSCOM-Lite and CDVP-206. The results show promise that the proposed methods may be helpful in providing insight into the existing inter-concept relations within an ontology and selecting the most facilitating set of concepts and hierarchical relations. Such an analysis as this can be utilized in various tasks such as building more reliable concept detectors and designing large-scale ontologies

K-Space at TRECVid 2007

In this paper we describe K-Space participation in TRECVid 2007. K-Space participated in two tasks, high-level feature extraction and interactive search. We present our approaches for each of these activities and provide a brief analysis of our results. Our high-level feature submission utilized multi-modal low-level features which included visual, audio and temporal elements. Specific concept detectors (such as Face detectors) developed by K-Space partners were also used. We experimented with different machine learning approaches including logistic regression and support vector machines (SVM). Finally we also experimented with both early and late fusion for feature combination. This year we also participated in interactive search, submitting 6 runs. We developed two interfaces which both utilized the same retrieval functionality. Our objective was to measure the effect of context, which was supported to different degrees in each interface, on user performance. The first of the two systems was a ‘shot’ based interface, where the results from a query were presented as a ranked list of shots. The second interface was ‘broadcast’ based, where results were presented as a ranked list of broadcasts. Both systems made use of the outputs of our high-level feature submission as well as low-level visual features