Symbolic Projection For Image Information Retrieval And Spatial Reasoning

Information systems with an abundance of graphics data are growing rapidly due to advances in data storage technology, the development of multimedia communications across networks, and the fact that parallel computers are leading to faster image processing systems. This book addresses image information retrieval and spatial reasoning using an approach called Symbolic Projection, which supports descriptions of the image content on the basis of the spatial relationships between the pictorial objects. Image information systems have a wide variety of applications, including information retrieval on the World Wide Web, medical pictorial archiving, computer-aided design, robotics, and geographical information systems, and this book is comprehensively illustrated with examples from these areas. Symbolic Projection now forms the basis of an enormous number and range of information retrieval algorithms, and also supports query-by-picture and qualitative spatial reasoning. Both authors are international experts in the field, and the book will serve as an excellent source for those working in multimedia systems and image information systems who wish to find out more about this exciting area. An all-inclusive source to the field--all you need to know S-K. Chang is the leading authority in this field, which he pioneered Includes a wide variety of applications, including information retrieval on the World Wide Web, computer-aided design, and geographical information systems

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 14th Australian Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, AI 2001, held in Adelaide, Australia, in December 2001.The 55 revised full papers presented together with one invited contribution were carefully reviewed and selected from a total of 100 submissions. The papers cover the whole range of artificial intelligence from theoretical and foundational issues to advanced applications in a variety of fields.

This book covers the principles and recent research results in intelligent image database systems design. Special emphasis is placed on spatial reasoning and the techniques for image indexing and retrieval, mainly based on the Theory of Symbolic Projection. In addition, applications of the theory and techniques to intelligent image database systems design are also discussed. Contents: Spatial Reasoning, Image Indexing and Retrieval Using Symbolic Projections (S K Chang et al.)Iconic Indexing by 2D Strings (S K Chang et al.)A Normalized Index for Image Databases (G Petraglia et al.)Representation of 3D Symbolic and Binary Pictures Using 3D Strings (S K Chang & Y Li)Spatial Knowledge Representation for Iconic Image Database (S-Y Lee & F-J Hsu)Ordering Information and Symbolic Projection (C Schlieder)Determination of the Views of a Moving Agent by Means of Symbolic Projections (E Jungert)A Logical Framework for Spatio Temporal Indexing of Image Sequences (A Del Bimbo & E Vicario)A Generalized Approach to Image Indexing and Retrieval Based on 2D Strings (E G M Petrakis & S C Orphanoudakis)Using 2D-String Decision Trees for Symbolic Picture Retrieval (D J Buehrer et al.)Efficient Image Retrieval Algorithms for Large Spatial Databases (J C R Tseng et al.)A Prototype Multimedia Database System Incorporating Iconic Indexing (T Arndt & R Kuppanna)A Two and Three Dimensional Ship Database Application (J Hildebrandt & K Tang) Readership: Researchers and practitioners in computer science. keywords:

With the recent advances in multimedia technology, on-line libraries of digital images are assuming an ever increasing relevance within a wide range of information systems. Effective access to such archives requires on external textual keywords that conventional searching techniques based are complemented by content-based queries addressing appearing visual features of searched data. Central to this retrieval approach is the creation of models, which permit to abstract images into some space of features and support indexing and comparison of visual contents. Depending on the specific characteris tics of the images at hand, such models can rely on different facets of the informative contents of visual data: color and texture distribution, shape of appearing objects, spatial arrangement. This book introduces and exemplifies objectives and research themes in image modeling and retrieval. In the introductory chapter, the problem of image modeling and retrieval is motivated and discussed, and major entry-pointers to the literature are provided. Afterwards, different model ing approaches are addressed in six chapters contributed by major research groups in the field: modeling based on object shape is addressed in chapter 2 by F. Korn, N. Sidiropoulos, C. Faloutsos, E. Siegel, and Z. Protopapas, and in chapter 3 by R. Mehrotra and J. E. Gary; modeling based on color and texture distribution is addressed in chapter 4 by G. D. Finlayson, S. S. Chat terjee, and B. V. Funt, and in chapter 5 by I. Gagliardi, A.

Goals of the Book Overthelast thirty yearsthere has been arevolutionindiagnostic radiology as a result oftheemergenceofcomputerized tomography (CT), which is the process of obtaining the density distribution within the human body from multiple x-ray projections. Since an enormous variety of possible density values may occur in the body, a large number of projections are necessary to ensure the accurate reconstruction oftheir distribution. There are other situations in which we desire to reconstruct an object from its projections, but in which we know that the object to be recon structed has only a small number of possible values. For example, a large fraction of objects scanned in industrial CT (for the purpose of nonde structive testing or reverse engineering) are made of a single material and so the ideal reconstruction should contain only two values: zero for air and the value associated with the material composing the object. Similar as sumptions may even be made for some specific medical applications; for example, in angiography ofthe heart chambers the value is either zero (in dicating the absence of dye) or the value associated with the dye in the chamber. Another example arises in the electron microscopy of biological macromolecules, where we may assume that the object to be reconstructed is composed of ice, protein, and RNA. One can also apply electron mi croscopy to determine the presenceor absence ofatoms in crystallinestruc tures, which is again a two-valued situation.

Presently, in our world, visual information dominates. The turn of the millenium marks the age of visual information systems. Enabled by picture sensors of all kinds turning digital, visual information will not only enhance the value of existing information, it will also open up a new horizon of previously untapped information sources. There is a huge demand for visual information access from the consumer. As well, the handling of visual information is boosted by the rapid increase of hardware and Internet capabilities. Advanced technology for visual information systems is more urgently needed than ever before: not only new computational methods to retrieve, index, compress and uncover pictorial information, but also new metaphors to organize user interfaces. Also, new ideas and algorithms are needed which allow access to very large databases of digital pictures and videos. Finally we should not forget new systems with visual interfaces integrating the above components into new types of image, video or multimedia databases and hyperdocuments. All of these technologies will enable the construction of systems that are radically different from conventional information systems. Many novel issues will need to be addressed: query formulation for pictorial information, consistency management thereof, indexing and assessing the quality of these systems. Historically, the expression Visual Information Systems can be understood either as a system for image information or as visual system for any kind information.

COSIT,theseriesofConferencesonSpatialInformationTheory,hasbeenaround for more than ten years. Its hallmarks are a fruitful interdisciplinary dialogue between computational and human perspectives on spatio-temporal information and a thorough review process that selects the best papers while giving all - thors detailed feedback on how to develop their work. A clear pro?le of the COSIT community has emerged from the series of conference proceedings, all published as Springer Lecture Notes in Computer Science, and from the per- nent web site at http://www. cosit. info, containing links to the conference web sites and proceedings, a history and program of the series, an impact study, interviews with participants, and pictures. The proceedings of this sixth conference provide ample evidence that COSIT is healthy and maturing, while retaining its youth. Out of the 61 submissions, the program committee selected 26 papers for presentation, in discussions based on at least three double-blind reviews and one or more meta-review from PC members for each paper. Classical COSIT themes, such as spatial reasoning (about distances and directions, regions and shapes) or vagueness are being f- ther re?ned; topics like way?nding and landmarks are boosted by new synergies betweencognitiveandcomputationalapproaches;andthestudyofontologiesfor space and time, a subject since the ?rst COSIT, is gaining more depth.