----------------------------Original message----------------------------
* The premise of Virage is that when a still image is registered into a
database, the Virage component
* Interrogates the image file, and compiles a mathematical construct of the
image, in categories Virage
* refers to as color, composition, structure, & texture.
I surmise that this original visual cataloguing is all a decision by the
computer?
Correct, the feature vectors are all extracted automatically at the time the
image object is registered in the database. I wouldn't want to go into detail
about the composition of the vector data without the permission of Virage, but
suffice it to say that in this case the Virage engine is noting patterns of
data, rather than conceptual forms, (i.e., it stores "000110011000" rather
than the vocabulary terms '2 dots'.
Interestingly, we had a meeting with Virage representatives today, who
demonstrated a number of advanced features that I was unaware they had
developed. First was the ability to let the searcher draw a simple picture of
the composition or objects to be searched - the 'query picture' is compared
against the vector data noted above to return a set of hits (like PIRS, but
much more sophisticated) - second was the ability to combine two or more types
of query input to form a comprehensive search. For example, the searcher
could select an existing image to form the basis of a query on color,
composition, structure and texture vectors; then draw a simple diagram to
indicate the specific shapes or objects desired; and finally combine this data
with a traditional keyword search (and even rank the importance of the keyword
statement against the other non-text query data). Obviously, these search
tools are designed to work with very large image collections.
We also saw some pretty compelling work they have done on a full-motion video
search engine. Remember Michael Crichton's "Rising Sun?" The video retrieval
engine described in that novel is pretty close to the demo we saw today. They
have also done work on tools that can perform automatic video logging, which
will cause any media librarian to salivate uncontrollably.
Regards,
Kevin Comerford
Media Archive Manager
Microsoft Corporation
