HIRBIR: A hierarchical approach to region-based image retrieval

This paper proposes a hierarchical approach to region-based image retrieval (HIRBIR) based on wavelet transform whose decomposition property is similar to human visual processing. First, automated image segmentation is performed fast in the low-low (LL) frequency subband of the wavelet domain that shows the desirable low image resolution. In the proposed system, boundaries between segmented regions are deleted to improve the robustness of region-based image retrieval against segmentation-related uncertainty. Second, a region feature vector is hierarchically represented by information in all wavelet subbands, and each feature component of a feature vector is a unified color–texture feature. Such a feature vector captures well the distinctive features (e.g., semantic texture) inside one region. Finally, employing a hierarchical feature vector, the weighted distance function for region matching is tuned meaningfully and easily, and a progressive stepwise indexing mechanism with relevance feedback is performed naturally and effectively in our system. Through experimental results and comparison with other methods, the proposed HIRBIR shows a good tradeoff between retrieval effectiveness and efficiency as well as easy implementation for region-based image retrieval.