Stochastic visually based image query and retrieval system
First Claim
1. An image search system comprising:
- a computer;
a plurality of images accessible by said computer, each of the plurality of images having associated therewith an image profile accessible by said computer, the image profile comprising information about the subject matter of the associated image;
a plurality of selection probability functions, said plurality of selection probability functions being set to initial values;
software executing on said computer for iteratively selecting and displaying a plurality of images, the plurality of images being selected based upon the relationship between the profile for each image and the values of the selection probability functions; and
software executing on said computer being responsive to a selection of one or more chosen images and iteratively adjusting the value of one or more of the selection probability functions based upon the profiles of the chosen images, wherein said software selects and displays, receives an indication of at least one chosen image, and adjusts the value of each of the selection probability functions iteratively until the search is terminated.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An image search and retrieval system for searching and retrieving a desired image from a collection of images is provided. The system includes a computer and a plurality of images accessible by the computer. Each of the images has associated therewith an image profile also accessible by the computer. A plurality of selection probability functions are provided, which are set to initial values at the beginning of the search. Software executing on the computer selects a plurality of images based upon the relationship between the profile for each image and the values of the selection probability functions, and displays the selected images. Software executing on the computer receives an indication of at least one chosen image and adjusts the value of each of the selection probability functions based upon the profiles of the chosen images. The software selects and displays images, receives an indication of at least one chosen image, and adjusts the value of each of the selection probability functions iteratively until the search is terminated. Preferably, each image profile comprises a plurality of rankings for a plurality of categories, and most preferably, the plurality of rankings comprise a plurality of characteristic functions, each of which represents a probability distribution function which describes the probability of an image being selected given user preferences within a category. The plurality of characteristic functions may take the form of a Gaussian function, or a bell curve, although such is not strictly required.
110 Citations
48 Claims
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1. An image search system comprising:
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a computer;
a plurality of images accessible by said computer, each of the plurality of images having associated therewith an image profile accessible by said computer, the image profile comprising information about the subject matter of the associated image;
a plurality of selection probability functions, said plurality of selection probability functions being set to initial values;
software executing on said computer for iteratively selecting and displaying a plurality of images, the plurality of images being selected based upon the relationship between the profile for each image and the values of the selection probability functions; and
software executing on said computer being responsive to a selection of one or more chosen images and iteratively adjusting the value of one or more of the selection probability functions based upon the profiles of the chosen images, wherein said software selects and displays, receives an indication of at least one chosen image, and adjusts the value of each of the selection probability functions iteratively until the search is terminated. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An image search system comprising:
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a computer;
a plurality of images accessible by said computer, each of the plurality of images having associated therewith a plurality of characteristic functions for a plurality of categories accessible by said computer, at least one of the plurality of categories relating to the subject matter of the associated image;
a plurality of selection probability functions, each of said selection probability functions corresponding to one of the categories, said plurality of selection probability functions being set to initial values;
software executing on said computer for selecting and displaying a plurality of images, the plurality of images being selected based upon the relationship between the characteristic functions for each image and the values of the selection probability functions;
software executing on said computer for receiving an indication of at least one chosen image and for adjusting the value of each of the selection probability functions based upon the characteristic functions of the chosen images; and
wherein said software selects and displays, receives an indication of at least one chosen image, and adjusts the value of each of the selection probability functions iteratively until the search is terminated. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An image search system comprising:
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a computer;
a database accessible by said computer;
a plurality of images stored on said database, each of the plurality of images having associated therewith information about the subject matter of the associated image; and
software executing on said computer for iteratively selecting images randomly from said plurality of images by using a stochastic process which takes into account the subject matter of the associated images, for gathering user suggestions, and for skewing the random selection toward the user suggestions. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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20. A method for searching and retrieving a desired image comprising the steps of:
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providing a computer;
providing a plurality of images accessible by the computer, each of the plurality of images having associated therewith an image profile accessible by the computer, the image profile comprising information about the subject matter of the associated image;
providing a plurality of selection probability functions;
setting the plurality of selection probability functions to initial values;
selecting a plurality of images based upon the relationship between the profile for each image and the values of the selection probability functions;
displaying the selected images;
receiving an indication of at least one chosen image;
adjusting the value of each of the selection probability functions based upon the profiles of the chosen images; and
repeating said selecting step, said displaying step, said receiving step and said adjusting step until the search is terminated. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method for searching and retrieving a desired image comprising the steps of:
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providing a computer;
providing a plurality of images accessible by the computer, each of the plurality of images having associated therewith a plurality of characteristic functions for a plurality of categories accessible by the computer, at least one of the plurality of categories relating to the subject matter of the associated image;
providing a plurality of selection probability functions, each of the selection probability functions corresponding to one of the categories;
setting the plurality of selection probability functions to initial values;
selecting a plurality of images based upon the relationship between the characteristic functions for each image and the values of the selection probability functions;
displaying the selected images;
receiving an indication of at least one chosen image;
adjusting the value of each of the selection probability functions based upon the characteristic functions of the chosen images; and
repeating said selecting step, said displaying step, said receiving step and said adjusting step until the search is terminated. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A method for searching and retrieving a desired image comprising the steps of:
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providing a computer;
providing a database accessible by the computer;
storing a plurality of images on the database, each of the plurality of images having associated therewith information about the subject matter of the associated image;
selecting images randomly from the plurality of images by using a stochastic process which takes into account the subject matter of the associated images;
gathering user suggestions;
skewing the random selection toward the user suggestions; and
iteratively repeating said selecting step, said gathering step and said skewing step until the search is terminated. - View Dependent Claims (38)
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39. An image search system comprising:
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a computer;
a plurality of images accessible by said computer, each of the plurality of images having associated therewith an image profile accessible by said computer;
a plurality of selection probability functions, said plurality of selection probability functions being set to initial values, wherein each of said selection probability functions is a statistical function;
software executing on said computer for iteratively selecting and displaying a plurality of images, the plurality of images being selected based upon the relationship between the profile for each image and the values of the selection probability functions; and
software executing on said computer being responsive to a selection of one or more chosen images and iteratively adjusting the value of one or more of the selection probability functions based upon the profiles of the chosen images, wherein said software selects and displays, receives an indication of at least one chosen image, and adjusts the value of each of the selection probability functions iteratively until the search is terminated. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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Specification