Image classification using multiscale information fusion based on saliency driven nonlinear diffusion filtering

In this paper, we propose saliency driven image multiscale nonlinear diffusion filtering. The resulting scale space in general preserves or even enhances semantically important structures such as edges, lines, or flow-like structures in the foreground, and inhibits and smoothes clutter in the background. The image is classified using multiscale information fusion based on the original image, the image at the final scale at which the diffusion process converges, and the image at a midscale. Our algorithm emphasizes the foreground features, which are important for image classification. The background image regions, whether considered as contexts of the foreground or noise to the foreground, can be globally handled by fusing information from different scales. Experimental tests of the effectiveness of the multiscale space for the image classification are conducted on the following publicly available datasets: 1) the PASCAL 2005 dataset; 2) the Oxford 102 flowers dataset; and 3) the Oxford 17 flowers dataset, with high classification rates

Context aware saliency map generation using semantic segmentation

Saliency map detection, as a method for detecting important regions of an image, is used in many applications such as image classification and recognition. We propose that context detection could have an essential role in image saliency detection. This requires extraction of high level features. In this paper a saliency map is proposed, based on image context detection using semantic segmentation as a high level feature. Saliency map from semantic information is fused with color and contrast based saliency maps. The final saliency map is then generated. Simulation results for Pascal-voc11 image dataset show 99% accuracy in context detection. Also final saliency map produced by our proposed method shows acceptable results in detecting salient points.Comment: 5 pages, 7 figures, 2 table

Image Search Reranking with click based similarity using Color Features Algorithm

In image search re-ranking, besides the well-known semantic gap, intent gap, which is the gap between the representation of users? query/demand and the real intent of the users, is becoming a major problem restricting the development of image retrieval. To reduce human effects, in this paper, we use image click-through data, which can be viewed as the implicit feedback from users, to help overcome the intention gap, and further improve the image search performance. Generally, the hypothesis visually similar images should be close in a ranking list and the strategy images with higher relevance should be ranked higher than others are widely accepted. To obtain satisfying search results, thus, image similarity and the level of relevance typicality are determinate factors correspondingly. Then, based on the learnt click-based image similarity measure, we conduct spectral clustering to group visually and semantically similar images into same clusters, and get the final re-ranklist by calculating click-based clusters typicality and within clusters click-based image typicality in descending order. Our experiments conducted on two real-world query-image data sets with diverse representative queries show that our proposed re-ranking approach can significantly improve initial search results, and outperform several existing re-ranking approaches

Salience-based selection: attentional capture by distractors less salient than the target

Current accounts of attentional capture predict the most salient stimulus to be invariably selected first. However, existing salience and visual search models assume noise in the map computation or selection process. Consequently, they predict the first selection to be stochastically dependent on salience, implying that attention could even be captured first by the second most salient (instead of the most salient) stimulus in the field. Yet, capture by less salient distractors has not been reported and salience-based selection accounts claim that the distractor has to be more salient in order to capture attention. We tested this prediction using an empirical and modeling approach of the visual search distractor paradigm. For the empirical part, we manipulated salience of target and distractor parametrically and measured reaction time interference when a distractor was present compared to absent. Reaction time interference was strongly correlated with distractor salience relative to the target. Moreover, even distractors less salient than the target captured attention, as measured by reaction time interference and oculomotor capture. In the modeling part, we simulated first selection in the distractor paradigm using behavioral measures of salience and considering the time course of selection including noise. We were able to replicate the result pattern we obtained in the empirical part. We conclude that each salience value follows a specific selection time distribution and attentional capture occurs when the selection time distributions of target and distractor overlap. Hence, selection is stochastic in nature and attentional capture occurs with a certain probability depending on relative salience