Methods and apparatus for automated true object-based image analysis and retrieval
First Claim
1. A computerized system for automated retrieval of images from an unstructured repository comprising:
- a region of interest (ROI) database that contains searchable entries representing images stored in the repository;
an image locator that automatically locates images for analysis within the repository to populate the ROI database;
an ROI classifier that segments images located by the image locator into a plurality of ROIs wherein each ROI contains image content associated with one or more actual features of a physical object in the ROI, the ROI classifier having a plurality of computer-implemented transform filters adapted to extract physical descriptors that describe the physical object from the image content for each ROI to be stored in the ROI database as a plurality of physical feature vectors, each physical descriptor corresponding to one of the one or more actual features of a physical object in the ROI associated with the image content, and each physical feature vector having a searchable data structure that includes at least an ROI type field and an ROI descriptor field for each physical descriptor;
an ROI query module that interrogates the ROI database by searching the ROI database for images containing content associated with at least one true physical object requested by a user search request;
an image search requestor that receives and formats the user search request for input to the ROI query module; and
an image retrieval module that utilizes the searchable entries in the ROI database to access the images stored in the repository that have content generally matching the true physical object requested by the user search request.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention is an automated and extensible system for the analysis and retrieval of images based on region-of-interest (ROI) analysis of one or more true objects depicted by an image. The system uses a ROI database that is a relational or analytical database containing searchable vectors that represent the images stored in a repository. Entries in the ROI database are created by an image locator and ROI classifier that work in tandem to locate images within the repository and extract the relevant information. The ROI classifier analyzes objects in an image to arrive at the actual features of the true object, instead of merely describing the features of the image of that object. Graphical searches are performed by the collaborative workings of an image retrieval module, and an image search requestor that translates user or agent search requests into a language understood by an ROI query module.
216 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A computerized system for automated retrieval of images from an unstructured repository comprising:
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a region of interest (ROI) database that contains searchable entries representing images stored in the repository; an image locator that automatically locates images for analysis within the repository to populate the ROI database; an ROI classifier that segments images located by the image locator into a plurality of ROIs wherein each ROI contains image content associated with one or more actual features of a physical object in the ROI, the ROI classifier having a plurality of computer-implemented transform filters adapted to extract physical descriptors that describe the physical object from the image content for each ROI to be stored in the ROI database as a plurality of physical feature vectors, each physical descriptor corresponding to one of the one or more actual features of a physical object in the ROI associated with the image content, and each physical feature vector having a searchable data structure that includes at least an ROI type field and an ROI descriptor field for each physical descriptor; an ROI query module that interrogates the ROI database by searching the ROI database for images containing content associated with at least one true physical object requested by a user search request; an image search requestor that receives and formats the user search request for input to the ROI query module; and an image retrieval module that utilizes the searchable entries in the ROI database to access the images stored in the repository that have content generally matching the true physical object requested by the user search request. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A computer-implemented method for automated retrieval of images from an unstructured repository comprising the steps of:
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providing a region of interest (ROI) database containing searchable entries representing images stored in the repository; automatically locating images for analysis within the repository; populating the ROI database with the located images; segmenting the located images into a plurality of regions of interest (ROIs) wherein each ROI contains content associated with one or more actual features of a physical object; extracting at least one physical descriptor from the content for each ROI, wherein the physical descriptor corresponds to one or more of the actual features of a physical object in the ROI; storing the at least one physical descriptor in the ROI database; responsive to a user search request, interrogating the ROI database for physical descriptors associated with images containing content associated with at least one true object requested by the user search request; and accessing the images stored in ROI database, the images having content generally matching the at least one true object requested by the user search request. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification