Visualization & Layout for Image Libraries

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2010

One of the fundamental challenges in designing an image retrieval system is choosing a method by which the images that match a given query are presented to the searcher. Traditional approaches have used a grid layout that requires a sequential evaluation of the images. Recent advances in image processing and computing power have made similarity-based organization of images feasible. In this paper, we present an approach that places visually similar images near one another, and supports dynamic zooming and panning within the image search results. A user study was conducted on two alternate implementations of our prototype system, the findings from which illustrate the benefit that an interactive similarity-based image organization approach has over the traditional method for displaying image search results.

2017

Finding images or videos in multimedia collections is a difficult task. Many collections only have metadata such as filenames or timestamps, and no other information is available. To augment this, we can employ content based analysis techniques that provides extra content based metadata. This provides a good starting point, but the accuracy is often insufficient to automate full collection categorization. A human in the loop is essential to aid with search and categorization. In this thesis we evaluate how to retrieve elements from multimedia collections for a variety of retrieval tasks. We investigate different user interfaces that extend content based retrieval methods with novel user interface techniques. In one interface, MediaTable, we focus on categorization tasks by leveraging table-style user interfaces with images so users can investigate both the multimedia content and associated metadata at the same time. Users can categorize elements by placing them in buckets, and we pe...

IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 2000

Social photos, which are taken during family events or parties, represent individuals or groups of people. We show in this paper how a Hasse diagram is an efficient visualization strategy for eliciting different groups and navigating through them. However, we do not limit this strategy to these traditional uses. Instead we show how it can also be used for assisting in indexing new photos. Indexing consists of identifying the event and people in photos. It is an integral phase that takes place before searching and sharing. In our method we use existing indexed photos to index new photos. This is performed through a manual drag and drop procedure followed by a content fusion process that we call 'propagation'. At the core of this process is the necessity to organize and visualize the photos that will be used for indexing in a manner that is easily recognizable and accessible by the user. In this respect we make use of an Object Galois Sub-Hierarchy and display it using a Hasse diagram. The need for an incremental display that maintains the user's mental map also leads us to propose a novel way of building the Hasse diagram. To validate the approach, we present some tests conducted with a sample of users that confirm the interest of this organization, visualization and indexation approach. Finally, we conclude by considering scalability, the possibility to extract social networks and automatically create personalised albums.

PeerJ Computer Science

The existing image search engines allow web users to explore images from the grids. The traditional interaction is linear and lookup-based. Notably, scanning web search results is horizontal-vertical and cannot support in-depth browsing. This research emphasizes the significance of a multidimensional exploration scheme over traditional grid layouts in visually exploring web image search results. This research aims to antecedent the implications of visualization and related in-depth browsing via a multidimensional cubic graph representation over a search engine result page (SERP). Furthermore, this research uncovers usability issues in the traditional grid and 3-dimensional web image search space. We provide multidimensional cubic visualization and nonlinear in-depth browsing of web image search results. The proposed approach employs textual annotations and descriptions to represent results in cubic graphs that further support in-depth browsing via a search user interface (SUI) desig...

2003

Content-Based Image Retrieval (CBIR) presents several challenges and has been subject to extensive research from many domains, such as image processing or database systems. Database researchers are concerned with indexing and querying, whereas image processing experts worry about extracting appropriate image descriptors. Comparatively little work has been done on designing user interfaces for CBIR systems. This, in turn, has a profound effect on these systems since the concept of image similarity is strongly influenced by user perception. This paper describes an initial effort to fill this gap, combining recent research in CBIR and Information Visualization, studied from a Human-Computer Interface perspective. It presents two visualization techniques based on Spiral and Concentric Rings implemented in a CBIR system to explore query results. The approach is centered on keeping user focus on both the query image, and the most similar retrieved images. Experiments conducted so far suggest that the proposed visualization strategies improves system usability.

2009

Managing photos by using visual features (e.g., color and texture) is known to be a powerful, yet imprecise, retrieval paradigm because of the semantic gap problem. The same is true if search relies only on keywords (or tags), derived from either the image context or user-provided annotations. In this paper we present a new multi-faceted image search and browsing system, named Scenique, that allows the user to manage her photo collections by using both visual features and tags, possibly organized into multiple dimensions (or facets). Each facet can be seen as a coordinate of a multidimensional space describing the image content (for example, the visual appearance, the content type, the geographic location, and so on). We present the basic principles of Scenique and provide evidence of the effectiveness of its visual tools. Feedback supplied by a set of real users indicates that the proposed interface is intuitive, easy to use, and that satisfies users' expectations in managing photo collections and quickly locating images of interest.

SPIE Proceedings, 1996

In this paper we present a user interface, CANDID Camera, for image retrieval using query-by-example technology. Included in the interface are several new layout algorithms based on multidimensional scaling techniques that visually display global and local relationships between images within a large image database. We use the CANDID project algorithms to create signatures of the images, and then measure the dissimilarity between the signatures. The layout algorithms are of two types. The first are those that project the all-pairs dissimilarities to two dimensions, presenting a many-to-many relationship for a global view of the entire database. The second are those that relate a query image t o a small set of matched images for a oneto-many relationship that provides a local inspection of the image relationships. Both types are based on well-known multidimensional scaling techniques that have been modified and used together for efficiency and effectiveness. They include nonlinear projection and classical projection. The global maps are hybrid algorithms using classical projection together with nonlinear projection. We have developed several oneto-many layouts based on a radial layout, also using modified nonlinear and classical projection.

Electronic Workshops in Computing, 2017

The volume of images available online has increased significantly but the choices offered by image retrieval systems have not kept pace. We describe the design and evaluation of a 'high density' image search interface focusing on the results pages. We quantitatively and qualitatively compared image presentation on a high density interface with a traditional image search interface. Our results show that users had major problems with high-density interfaces for images due to information overload. We point to further work which could improve the user experience.

International Journal of Information Management

Recent years have seen a huge increase in the digital data generated by companies, projects and individuals. This has led to significant challenges in visualizing and using large, diverse collections of digital information. Indeed the speed and accuracy with which these large datasets can be effectively mined for information that is relevant and valuable can have a significant effect on company performance. This research investigates the feasibility of using visual representations for the searching and browsing of large, complex, multimedia data sets. This paper introduces the SIZL (Searching for Information in a Zoom Landscape) system, which was developed to enable the authors to effectively test whether a 2.5D graphical representation of a multimedia data landscape produces quantifiable improvements in a user's ability to assess its contents. The usability of this visualization system was analyzed using experiments and a combination of quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. The paper presents these results and discusses potential industrial applications as well as future work that will improve the SIZL data visualization method.

2004

This paper proposes a novel touch-based multiuser interaction environment for browsing images from the Internet. A large touchable screen serves as a shared data space where multiple users simultaneously interact with Internet images by using simple hands movements and gestures. Users can select, bookmark, clean up and refine the search of the incoming images. The system provides a natural and easy-to-use interface to browse and select items from large databases, with uses varying from discussion and brain storming support to edutainment and fun. Early preliminary results show the suitability of our image interactive visualization method for browsing large image collections.