Fast Image Retrieval Based on Attributes of the Human Visual System

In this paper we present a new method for content-based image retrieval (CBIR), based on the retinal signal processing of the human visual system (HVS). A center-surround operator similar to the receptive fields of the ganglion cells of the retina is employed to create a new form of color histogram, the center-surround histogram (CSH). Unlike other proposed color histograms, the CSH takes into consideration only the visual signal surrounding the zero-crossings of an image. This reduces the processed amount of visual information and minimizes the computational burden. Furthermore, a combination of spatial and chromatic information of the image is also achieved. The method is compared to other contemporary methods for image retrieval, exhibiting better results in shorter computational times