Re-ranking item recommendations based on image feature data

• US 8,737,729 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2012
• Issued: 05/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Original Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Inventors: Bhardwaj, Anurag, Piramuthu, Robinson, Sundaresan, Neelakantan
• Primary Examiner(s): Dang, Duy M
• Application Number:
  US13/631,849
• Publication Number:
  US 20130084002A1
• Time in Patent Office: 606 Days
• Field of Search: 382/162, 382/165, 382/167, 382/305, 705/26.1
• US Class Current: 382/165
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24578 using ranking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/532 Query formulation, e.g. graphical querying
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/583 using metadata automatically derived from the content
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/5838 using colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/5866 using information manually generated, e.g. tags, keywords, comments, manually generated location and time information
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/21 Design or setup of recognition systems or techniques; Extraction of features in feature space; Blind source separation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/22 Matching criteria, e.g. proximity measures
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0629 for generating comparisons
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0631 Item recommendations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0643 Graphical representation of items or shoppers
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10024 Color image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/13 Edge detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/41 based on statistical description of texture
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/90 Determination of colour characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/50 by performing operations within image blocks; by using histograms, e.g. histogram of oriented gradients [HoG]; by summing image-intensity values; Projection analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/507 Summing image-intensity values; Histogram projection analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/56 relating to colour

Abstract

An apparatus and method to adjust item recommendations are disclosed herein. A first image attribute of a query image is compared to a second image attribute of each of a plurality of inventory images of a plurality of inventory items to identify the inventory items similar to the query image. Item recommendations comprising the identified inventory items in a first listing order are provided for display at a remote device. A second listing order of the identified inventory items is determined based on a user preference for a particular one of the identified inventory items. At least the second listing order is provided to the remote device for re-display of the item recommendations in accordance with the second listing order.

Claims

1. A method to adjust item recommendations, the method comprising:

comparing, using a processor, a first image attribute of a query image to a second image attribute of each of a plurality of inventory images of a plurality of inventory items to identify the inventory items similar to the query image, wherein the first image attribute is selected among a color histogram, a dominant color, or an orientation histogram corresponding to the query image based on a confidence score associated with a visual pattern of the query image, the dominant color, or a directionality present in the query image;

providing item recommendations comprising the identified inventory items for display at a remote device, the item recommendations including a first listing order of the identified inventory items based on degree of similarity to the query image;

receiving, from the remote device, user preference for a particular one of the identified inventory items;

determining a second listing order of the identified inventory items based on the user preference for the particular one of the identified inventory items, the first and second listing orders being different from each other; and

providing at least the second listing order to the remote device for re-display of the item recommendations in accordance with the second listing order.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving the query image from the remote device, wherein the query image comprises a photograph.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving of the user preference is in response to a user actuating a user preference icon associated with the particular one of the identified inventory items.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the second listing order comprises identifying at least a color or pattern characteristic in common between the query image and the particular one of the identified inventory items and increasing a rank of the identified inventory items having the common characteristic.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the determining of the second listing order comprises increasing the rank of select ones of the identified inventory items to facilitate an explore-exploit paradigm.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, from the remote device, a request from the user to re-rank the item recommendations.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the receiving, determining, and providing at least the second listing order steps are repeated in response to each request from the user to re-rank the item recommendations.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the determining of the second listing order is triggered in response to the receiving of the request.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the second listing order is automatically triggered in response to the receiving of the user preference for the particular one of the identified inventory items.

10. A device, comprising:

at least one memory;

at least one processor in communication with the memory; and

one or more modules comprising instructions stored in the memory and executed by the processor to perform operations comprising;

comparing a first image attribute of a query image to a second image attribute of each of a plurality of inventory images of a plurality of inventory items to identify the inventory items similar to the query image, wherein the first image attribute is selected among a color histogram, a dominant color, or an orientation histogram corresponding to the query image based on a confidence score associated with a visual pattern of the query image, the dominant color, or a directionality present in the query image;

providing item recommendations comprising the identified inventory items for display at a remote device, the item recommendations including a first listing order of the identified inventory items based on degree of similarity to the query image;

receiving, from the remote device, user preference for a particular one of the identified inventory items;

determining a second listing order of the identified inventory items based on the user preference for the particular one of the identified inventory items, the first and second listing orders being different from each other; and

providing at least the second listing order to the remote device for re-display of the item recommendations in accordance with the second listing order.

11. The device of claim 10, further comprising receiving the query image from the remote device, wherein the query image comprises a photograph.

12. The device of claim 10, wherein receiving of the user preference is in response to a user actuating a user preference icon associated with the particular one of the identified inventory items.

13. The device of claim 10, wherein the determining of the second listing order comprises identifying at least a color or pattern characteristic in common between the query image and the particular one of the identified inventory items and increasing a rank of the identified inventory items having the common characteristic.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the determining of the second listing order comprises increasing the rank of select ones of the identified inventory items to facilitate exploration of diversity of the identified inventory items.

15. The device of claim 10, further comprising receiving, from the remote device, a request from the user to re-rank the item recommendations.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the receiving, determining, and providing at least the second listing order steps are repeated in response to each request from the user to re-rank the item recommendations.

17. The device of claim 15, wherein the determining of the second listing order is triggered in response to the receiving of the request or to the receiving of the user preference for the particular one of the identified inventory items.

18. A non-transitory computer readable medium including instructions, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform operations comprising:

comparing a first image attribute of a query image to a second image attribute of each of a plurality of inventory images of a plurality of inventory items to identify the inventory items similar to the query image, wherein the first image attribute is selected among a color histogram, a dominant color, or an orientation histogram corresponding to the query image based on a confidence score associated with a visual pattern of the query image, the dominant color, or a directionality present in the query image;

providing item recommendations comprising the identified inventory items for display at a remote device, the item recommendations including a first listing order of the identified inventory items based on degree of similarity to the query image;

receiving, from the remote device, user preference for a particular one of the identified inventory items;

determining a second listing order of the identified inventory items based on the user preference for the particular one of the identified inventory items, the first and second listing orders being different from each other; and

providing at least the second listing order to the remote device for re-display of the item recommendations in accordance with the second listing order.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein receiving of the user preference is in response to a user actuating a user preference icon associated with the particular one of the identified inventory items.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein the determining of the second listing order comprises identifying at least a color or pattern characteristic in common between the query image and the particular one of the identified inventory items and increasing a rank of the identified inventory items having the common characteristic.