Object extraction as a basic process for content-based image retrieval (CBIR) system

Abstract

This article describes the way in which image is prepared for content-based image retrieval system. Automated image extraction is crucial; especially, if we take into consideration the fact that the feature selection is still a task performed by human domain experts and represents a major stumbling block in the process of creating fully autonomous CBIR systems. Our CBIR system is dedicated to support estate agents. In the database, there are images of houses and bungalows. We put all our efforts into extracting elements from an image and finding their characteristic features in the unsupervised way. Hence, the paper presents segmentation algorithm based on a pixel colour in RGB colour space. Next, it presents the method of object extraction applied to obtain separate objects prepared for the process of introducing them into database and further recognition. Moreover, we present a novel method of texture identification which is based on wavelet transformation. Due to the fact that the majority of texture is geometrical (such as bricks and tiles) we have used the Haar wavelet. After a set of low-level features for all objects is computed, the database is stored with these features.