An Image Retrieval System Based on Local and Global Color Descriptions

This paper presents a new approach for visual-based image retrieval method with respect to the MPEG-7 still image description scheme. A segmentation method based on a multivariate minimum cross entropy is used hierarchically for partitioning the color image in classes and regions. Local and global descriptors are defined in order to characterize the color feature of these regions. The local descriptors provide information about the local activity in the image, and the global ones evaluate the qualitative image content. Their combination increases significantly the performances of the image retrieval system IMALBUM presented in this paper. The retrieved images are presented in a description space allowing the user to better understand and interact with the search engine results.

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