Dongge Li

Color-WISE: A system for image similarity retrieval using color

Color is one of the most widely used features for image similarity retrieval. Most of the existing image similarity retrieval schemes employ either global or local color histogramming. In this paper, we explore the use of localized dominant hue and saturation values for color-based image similarity retrieval. This scheme results in a relatively compact representation of color images for similarity retrieval. Experimental results comparing the proposed representation with global and local color histogramming are presented to show the efficacy of the suggested scheme.

MDC: a software tool for developing MPEG applications

The paper presents a modularization method for the design of MPEG decoding software. Compared to the traditional MPEG decoder architecture, the architecture obtained from the modularization method can effectively improve the flexibility and reusability of MPEG decoding software without affecting the speed performance. Using this design approach, the paper presents MPEG Developing Classes (MDC), a software tool for developing MPEG video applications. The feedback from users of MDC shows that MDC is flexible in use and easy to understand. It allows users to develop their specific decoders without going into details of MPEG.

Detection of side-view faces in color images

A coarse-to-fine scheme for the detection of sideview faces in color images is proposed in this paper, which extends the current state of the art of face detection research. The input image can be of complex scene, containing cluttered background and confusing objects. The system consists of four stages, each of which is a refinement of the previous one, namely: (1) skin-tone detection by color, (2) region and edge preprocessing with morphological operations and length filtering, (3) face candidate region selection based on normalized similarity value and (4) final verification using hidden Markov models. Encouraging experimental results have been obtained, due to the utilization of multiple features of the input image and the conjunction of employment of various image processing and pattern recognition techniques. Besides providing the ability to detect faces other than frontal-view, our work has 3 original contributions, including the Normalized Similarity Value (NSV) to detect the presence of a given curve pattern, the iterative partition process to segment the object from confusing extraneous regions for higher detection accuracy and the exploration of the use of HMM to recognize objects in images.

Web-WISE: Compressed Image Retrieval over the Web

Web-WISE is a system designed to address the need for efficient content-based seeking and retrieval of images on the web. It supports searching by multi-features, including color and texture. Web-WISE contains three automatic components, which are 1): Internet Agent responsible for searching the Web to fetch images; 2): Analysis Agent, which extracts the color and texture features of color JPEG images directly from compressed domain and 3): Query Agent, which explores the image database using certain metrics and returns a set of images (thumbnails) visually similar to the query image. Due to its generic design, adding other features to the system will be very natural, including the ability to index and retrieve other types of visual information and retrieval based on edge and shape. This paper presents the theoretic and practical background of the system, the schemes of these three components and the performance of the system.