The Meaning of an Image in Content-Based Image Retrieval

One of the major problems in CBIR is the so-called `semantic gap': the difference between low-level features, extracted from images, and the high-level `information need' of the user. The goal of diminishing the semantic gap can be regarded as a quest for similar `concepts' rather than similar features, where a concept is loosely defined as "what words (or images) stand for, signify, or mean" [1]. We first seek to establish a metaphysical basis for CBIR. We look at ontological questions, such as `what is similarity?' and `what is an image?' in the context of CBIR. We will investigate these questions via thought experiments. We will argue that the meaning of an image--the concept it stands for--rests on at least three pillars: what actually can be seen on an image (its ontology), convention and imagination.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2006
• Where: CAISE
• Authors: Walter ten Brinke, David McG. Squire, John Bigelow
• Keywords: CAISE 2006, Information Management, Low-level Features, Major Problems, Semantic Gap