New use for the pen: outline-based image queries

A method for image-based queries and search is proposed which is based on the generation of object outlines in images by using the pen, e.g., on color pen computers. By exploiting the actual presence of the human users with their perceptual-motor abilities and by storing textually annotated queries, an incrementally learning image retrieval system can be developed. As an initial test domain, sets of photographs of motor bicycles were used. Classification performances are given for outline and bitmap-derived feature sets, based on nearest-neighbour matching, with promising results. The next step is to use outlines for edge matching in raw, non-annotated images, for which preliminary results are presented. The benefit of the approach will be a user-based multimodal annotation of image database, yielding a gradual improvement in performance over time