Test Case Selection Using CBIR and Clustering

Choosing test cases for the optimization process of information systems testing is crucial, because it helps to eliminate unnecessary and redundant testing data. However, its use in systems that address complex domains (e.g. images) is still underexplored. This paper presents a new approach that uses Content-Based Image Retrieval (CBIR), similarity functions and clustering techniques to select test cases from an image-based test suite. Two experiments performed on an image processing system show that our approach, when compared with random tests, can significantly enhance the performance of tests execution by reducing the test cases required to find a fault. The results also show the potential use of CBIR for information abstraction, as well as the effectiveness of similarity functions and clustering for test case selection

The application of user log for online business environment using content-based Image retrieval system

Over the past few years, inter-query learning has gained much attention in the research and development of content-based image retrieval (CBIR) systems. This is largely due to the capability of inter-query approach to enable learning from the retrieval patterns of previous query sessions. However, much of the research works in this field have been focusing on analyzing image retrieval patterns stored in the database. This is not suitable for a dynamic environment such as the World Wide Web (WWW) where images are constantly added or removed. A better alternative is to use an image's visual features to capture the knowledge gained from the previous query sessions. Based on the previous work (Chung et al., 2006), the aim of this paper is to propose a framework of inter-query learning for the WWW-CBIR systems. Such framework can be extremely useful for those online companies whose core business involves providing multimedia content-based services and products to their customers

Multi-layer Architecture For Storing Visual Data Based on WCF and Microsoft SQL Server Database

In this paper we present a novel architecture for storing visual data. Effective storing, browsing and searching collections of images is one of the most important challenges of computer science. The design of architecture for storing such data requires a set of tools and frameworks such as SQL database management systems and service-oriented frameworks. The proposed solution is based on a multi-layer architecture, which allows to replace any component without recompilation of other components. The approach contains five components, i.e. Model, Base Engine, Concrete Engine, CBIR service and Presentation. They were based on two well-known design patterns: Dependency Injection and Inverse of Control. For experimental purposes we implemented the SURF local interest point detector as a feature extractor and $K$-means clustering as indexer. The presented architecture is intended for content-based retrieval systems simulation purposes as well as for real-world CBIR tasks.Comment: Accepted for the 14th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Soft Computing, ICAISC, June 14-18, 2015, Zakopane, Polan

Further results on dissimilarity spaces for hyperspectral images RF-CBIR

Content-Based Image Retrieval (CBIR) systems are powerful search tools in image databases that have been little applied to hyperspectral images. Relevance feedback (RF) is an iterative process that uses machine learning techniques and user's feedback to improve the CBIR systems performance. We pursued to expand previous research in hyperspectral CBIR systems built on dissimilarity functions defined either on spectral and spatial features extracted by spectral unmixing techniques, or on dictionaries extracted by dictionary-based compressors. These dissimilarity functions were not suitable for direct application in common machine learning techniques. We propose to use a RF general approach based on dissimilarity spaces which is more appropriate for the application of machine learning algorithms to the hyperspectral RF-CBIR. We validate the proposed RF method for hyperspectral CBIR systems over a real hyperspectral dataset.Comment: In Pattern Recognition Letters (2013

Vision systems with the human in the loop

The emerging cognitive vision paradigm deals with vision systems that apply machine learning and automatic reasoning in order to learn from what they perceive. Cognitive vision systems can rate the relevance and consistency of newly acquired knowledge, they can adapt to their environment and thus will exhibit high robustness. This contribution presents vision systems that aim at flexibility and robustness. One is tailored for content-based image retrieval, the others are cognitive vision systems that constitute prototypes of visual active memories which evaluate, gather, and integrate contextual knowledge for visual analysis. All three systems are designed to interact with human users. After we will have discussed adaptive content-based image retrieval and object and action recognition in an office environment, the issue of assessing cognitive systems will be raised. Experiences from psychologically evaluated human-machine interactions will be reported and the promising potential of psychologically-based usability experiments will be stressed

Automatic Query Image Disambiguation for Content-Based Image Retrieval

Query images presented to content-based image retrieval systems often have various different interpretations, making it difficult to identify the search objective pursued by the user. We propose a technique for overcoming this ambiguity, while keeping the amount of required user interaction at a minimum. To achieve this, the neighborhood of the query image is divided into coherent clusters from which the user may choose the relevant ones. A novel feedback integration technique is then employed to re-rank the entire database with regard to both the user feedback and the original query. We evaluate our approach on the publicly available MIRFLICKR-25K dataset, where it leads to a relative improvement of average precision by 23% over the baseline retrieval, which does not distinguish between different image senses.Comment: VISAPP 2018 paper, 8 pages, 5 figures. Source code: https://github.com/cvjena/ai

Multi modal multi-semantic image retrieval

PhDThe rapid growth in the volume of visual information, e.g. image, and video can overwhelm users’ ability to find and access the specific visual information of interest to them. In recent years, ontology knowledge-based (KB) image information retrieval techniques have been adopted into in order to attempt to extract knowledge from these images, enhancing the retrieval performance. A KB framework is presented to promote semi-automatic annotation and semantic image retrieval using multimodal cues (visual features and text captions). In addition, a hierarchical structure for the KB allows metadata to be shared that supports multi-semantics (polysemy) for concepts. The framework builds up an effective knowledge base pertaining to a domain specific image collection, e.g. sports, and is able to disambiguate and assign high level semantics to ‘unannotated’ images. Local feature analysis of visual content, namely using Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) descriptors, have been deployed in the ‘Bag of Visual Words’ model (BVW) as an effective method to represent visual content information and to enhance its classification and retrieval. Local features are more useful than global features, e.g. colour, shape or texture, as they are invariant to image scale, orientation and camera angle. An innovative approach is proposed for the representation, annotation and retrieval of visual content using a hybrid technique based upon the use of an unstructured visual word and upon a (structured) hierarchical ontology KB model. The structural model facilitates the disambiguation of unstructured visual words and a more effective classification of visual content, compared to a vector space model, through exploiting local conceptual structures and their relationships. The key contributions of this framework in using local features for image representation include: first, a method to generate visual words using the semantic local adaptive clustering (SLAC) algorithm which takes term weight and spatial locations of keypoints into account. Consequently, the semantic information is preserved. Second a technique is used to detect the domain specific ‘non-informative visual words’ which are ineffective at representing the content of visual data and degrade its categorisation ability. Third, a method to combine an ontology model with xi a visual word model to resolve synonym (visual heterogeneity) and polysemy problems, is proposed. The experimental results show that this approach can discover semantically meaningful visual content descriptions and recognise specific events, e.g., sports events, depicted in images efficiently. Since discovering the semantics of an image is an extremely challenging problem, one promising approach to enhance visual content interpretation is to use any associated textual information that accompanies an image, as a cue to predict the meaning of an image, by transforming this textual information into a structured annotation for an image e.g. using XML, RDF, OWL or MPEG-7. Although, text and image are distinct types of information representation and modality, there are some strong, invariant, implicit, connections between images and any accompanying text information. Semantic analysis of image captions can be used by image retrieval systems to retrieve selected images more precisely. To do this, a Natural Language Processing (NLP) is exploited firstly in order to extract concepts from image captions. Next, an ontology-based knowledge model is deployed in order to resolve natural language ambiguities. To deal with the accompanying text information, two methods to extract knowledge from textual information have been proposed. First, metadata can be extracted automatically from text captions and restructured with respect to a semantic model. Second, the use of LSI in relation to a domain-specific ontology-based knowledge model enables the combined framework to tolerate ambiguities and variations (incompleteness) of metadata. The use of the ontology-based knowledge model allows the system to find indirectly relevant concepts in image captions and thus leverage these to represent the semantics of images at a higher level. Experimental results show that the proposed framework significantly enhances image retrieval and leads to narrowing of the semantic gap between lower level machinederived and higher level human-understandable conceptualisation

An adaptive technique for content-based image retrieval

We discuss an adaptive approach towards Content-Based Image Retrieval. It is based on the Ostensive Model of developing information needs—a special kind of relevance feedback model that learns from implicit user feedback and adds a temporal notion to relevance. The ostensive approach supports content-assisted browsing through visualising the interaction by adding user-selected images to a browsing path, which ends with a set of system recommendations. The suggestions are based on an adaptive query learning scheme, in which the query is learnt from previously selected images. Our approach is an adaptation of the original Ostensive Model based on textual features only, to include content-based features to characterise images. In the proposed scheme textual and colour features are combined using the Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence combination. Results from a user-centred, work-task oriented evaluation show that the ostensive interface is preferred over a traditional interface with manual query facilities. This is due to its ability to adapt to the user's need, its intuitiveness and the fluid way in which it operates. Studying and comparing the nature of the underlying information need, it emerges that our approach elicits changes in the user's need based on the interaction, and is successful in adapting the retrieval to match the changes. In addition, a preliminary study of the retrieval performance of the ostensive relevance feedback scheme shows that it can outperform a standard relevance feedback strategy in terms of image recall in category search