img(PAINT.ANAKTISIS) is almost ready.

Img(PAINT.ANAKTISIS)is an experimental service which lets you search and explore in a selection of images by drawing a rough sketch
A new method is implemented that provides image-to-image matching as well as ultra high-speed sequence-to-sequence matching, which requires so many repetitions of similarity calculations. It also provides very friendly user interface using hand-written sketch queries since this descriptors captures the layout information of color feature.
Img(PAINT.ANAKTISIS) is almost ready. I’m working now on the GUI and I am writing the documentation. Application source code will be available after the publication. Here are some screenshots. Stay tuned.






As you can see, image database contains almost 17000 images.

FCTH: FUZZY COLOR AND TEXTURE HISTOGRAM

My paper "FCTH: FUZZY COLOR AND TEXTURE HISTOGRAM. A LOW LEVEL FEATURE FOR ACCURATE IMAGE RETRIEVAL" has been accepted in the "The International Workshop on Image Analysis for Multimedia Interactive Services (WIAMIS)"

This paper deals with the extraction of a new low level feature that combines, in one histogram, color and texture information. This feature is named FCTH - Fuzzy Color and Texture Histogram - and results from the combination of 3 fuzzy systems. FCTH size is limited to 72 bytes per image, rendering this descriptor suitable for use in large image databases. The proposed feature is appropriate for accurately retrieving images even in distortion cases such as deformations, noise and smoothing. It is tested on a large number of images selected from proprietary image databases or randomly retrieved from popular search engines. To evaluate the performance of the proposed feature, the averaged normalized modified retrieval rank was used.
An online demo that implements the proposed feature in an image retrieval system is available at: http://orpheus.ee.duth.gr/image_retrieval.

The proposed low level feature has been integrated in the retrieval software system Img (Rummager), which has been developed in the “Automatic Control Systems & Robotics” laboratory of “Democritus University of Thrace - Greece”.

To evaluate the performance of the image retrieval system, the objective measure called ANMRR (Averaged Normalized Modified Retrieval Rank) is used. In particular experiments we used as ground truth, the groups of images as proposed in the MIRROR image retrieval system. This system separates the Wang’s database in 20 queries. In table 2 that follows certain indicative results appear while in table 3 the values of ANMRR for the total of the 20 queries have been calculated.

Retrievr

A lovely experiment, retrievr lets you search and explore in a selection of Flickr images by drawing a rough sketch and then seeing which of our interesting photos come up as a match. Beware! You will spend hours pouring over the stunning (and sometimes unexpected) results
http://labs.systemone.at/retrievr/

CBMI-2008

Following the five successful previous events of CBMI (Toulouse 1999, Brescia 2001, Rennes 2003, Riga 2005 and Bordeaux 2007), the next CBMI event will be organised by the MMV group at Queen Mary, University of London, in London, UK. CBMI'08 aims at bringing together the various communities involved in the different aspects of Content-Based Multimedia Indexing. The scientific program of CBMI'08 will include the presentation of invited plenary talks, special sessions as well as regular sessions with contributed research papers.
Submissions of original contributions related to the area of multimedia indexing are strongly encouraged. The full-length papers can be up to eight pages including figures, references and additional contents. The papers have to be formatted according to the guidelines provided in the Author's Kit section.

A businessman & a Mexican

An American businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to
catch them. The Mexican replied only a little while. The American then asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.
The American then asked, but what do you do with the rest of your time?
The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, senor."
The American scoffed, "I am a Wharton MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling
your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC
where you will run your expanding enterprise."

The Mexican fisherman asked, "But senor, how long will this all take?"

To which the American replied, "15-20 years."

"But what then, senor?"

The American laughed and said, That's the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions."

"Millions, senor? Then what?"

The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."

Ulead® PhotoImpact® X3

Easy and Fast ExpressFix™ ModeUnique ExpressFix panel with one-click fixes and enhancements. Large preview screen with Before and After views.
SmartCurves – Automatically bring out details in dark areas, without overexposing the highlights.
Auto White Balance Control - Easily correct your images to make colors look natural under any kind of light.
Reduce Noise – Automatically clean up digital artifacts in photos shot in low light or at high ISO settings. Especially useful for improving pics from cell phone cameras.
Photo Project wizard – Easily create collages, comic strips, DVD labels and greeting cards.
Next-generation Crop tools PhotoImpact now offers two easy ways to recompose your pictures for more impact:
Rule of Thirds Crop – Apply the classic Rule of Thirds grid for more dynamic images.
Golden Ratio Crop – Used throughout history by the masters, this is a timeless tool to compose more powerful images. It worked for the Mona Lisa – it can work for your photos too!
SmartGuide – “How-to” HelpShows you how to complete great-looking projects:
Step-by-step directions on-screen.
Guides for basic and advanced photo-editing, Webpage, video and DVD menu tasks.
Links take you directly to the tools you need.

CEDD: Color and Edge Directivity Descriptor

Update your bookmarks: Read more about CEDD desctiptor and download an open source implementation from my personal website http://chatzichristofis.info/?page_id=15 

My paper "CEDD: Color and Edge Directivity Descriptor. A Compact Descriptor for Image Indexing and Retrieval" has been accepted for inclusion in the ICVS2008 proceedings.

Abstract.
This paper deals with a new low level feature that is extracted from the images and can be used for indexing and retrieval. This feature is called “Color and Edge Directivity Descriptor” and incorporates in a histogram color and texture information. CEDD size is limited to 54 bytes per image, rendering this descriptor suitable for use in large image databases. This descriptor is appropriate for accurately retrieving images even in distortion cases such as deformation, noise and smoothing. It was tested on a large number of images selected from proprietary image databases or randomly retrieved from popular search engines. Important attribute of the CEDD is the low computational power needed for its extraction, in comparison to the needs of the most MPEG-7 descriptors. To evaluate the performance of the proposed feature, the objective measure called ANMRR is used.
Keywords: Image Retrieval, Image Indexing, Compact Descriptors, Low Level Features, Color and Texture Histogram.

The proposed low level feature has been integrated in the retrieval software system Img(Rummager), which has been developed in the “Automatic Control Systems & Robotics” laboratory of “Democritus University of Thrace - Greece”.

To evaluate the performance of the image retrieval system, the objective measure called ANMRR (Averaged Normalized Modified Retrieval Rank) [5] is used. The ANMRR is always in range of 0 to 1 and the smaller the value of this measure is the better the matching quality of the query.

Multiple Image Resizer .NET

With Multiple Image Resizer .NET, you can resize, add borders, add text, overlay images, crop, rotate and flip - with a few simple mouse clicks.
And what's more, Multiple Image Resizer .NET is FREE for personal and educational use!
Multiple Image Resizer .NET also has a completely customisable user interface that you can arrange to suit yourself.
There are thousands of satisfied users all over the world.

http://www.multipleimageresizer.net/default.aspx

1st International Symposium on Intelligent Interactive Multimedia Systems and Services

KES-IIMSS-08 is an international scientific symposium for research in the fields of intelligent interactive multimedia systems and services. The aim of the symposium is to provide an internationally respected forum for scientific research in the technologies and applications of intelligent interactive multimedia systems and services.

At a time when computers are more widespread than ever and computer users range from highly qualified scientists to non computer expert professionals, Intelligent Interactive Systems are becoming a necessity in modern computer systems. The solution of "one-fits-all" is no longer applicable to wide ranges of users of various backgrounds and needs. Therefore one important goal of many intelligent interactive systems is dynamic personalization and adaptivity to users. Intelligent recommender systems, intelligent narrative environments, intelligent tutoring systems, intelligent web-stores, intelligent interactive TV, intelligent mobile services constitute a set of typical examples of intelligent interactive systems which is not limited to these examples. Moreover, interactivity is no longer limited to the classical modes of interaction and is extended to include multimedia systems and services, since many modes of interaction render computer systems more attractive, user friendlier, more human-like and informative. Multimedia Systems refer to the coordinated storage, processing, transmission and retrieval of multiple forms of information, such as audio, image, video, animation, graphics, and text. Multimedia Services based on multimedia systems have made significant progress in recent times, as they arise in various areas including, but not limited to, advertisements, art, business, education, entertainment, engineering, medicine, mathematics, scientific research and spatio-temporal applications. The growth rate of multimedia services has become explosive, as technological progress matches consumer needs for content.

This symposium will provide an excellent opportunity for researchers to discuss modern approaches and techniques for intelligent interactive multimedia systems and services. KES-IIMSS-08 is organized by KES International and the University of Piraeus, Greece, and will take place in Athens, Greece. Greece offers top quality tourist attractions to over 20 million international visitors every year. Athens, the capital and main point of entry to Greece, is home to ten major Universities which educate a total population of over 70,000 students.

http://iimss-08.kesinternational.org/index.php