Query-by-Sketch Image Retrieval Using Similarity in Stroke Order

In previous studies, the retrieval accuracy of large image databases has been improved as a result of reducing the semantic gap by combining the input sketch with relevance feedback. A further improvement of retrieval accuracy is expected by combining each stroke, and its order, of the input sketch with the relevance feedback. However, this leaves as a problem the fact that the effect of the relevance feedback substantially depends on the stroke order in the input sketch. Although it is theoretically possible to consider all the possible stroke orders, that would cause a realistic problem of creating an enormous amount of data. Consequently, the technique introduced in this paper intends to improve retrieval efficiency by effectively using the relevance feedback by means of conducting data mining of the sketch considering the similarity in the order of strokes. To ascertain the effectiveness of this technique, a retrieval experiment was conducted using 20,000 images of a collection, the Corel Photo Gallery, and the experiment was able to confirm an improvement in the retrieval efficiency.