17470669
Retrieval with knowledge-driven kernel design: an approach to improving SVM-based CBIR with relevance feedback
The performance of SVM-based image retrieval is often constrained by the scarcity of training samples. The total number of image samples labeled by users in a retrieval session is very limited, and this small number of labeled samples cannot effectively represent the true distributions of positive and negative image classes, especially for the negative image class. This paper proposes a novel approach to deal with this problem. Instead of treating it as a problem, the mere existence of the small number of labeled images and their desired distribution in the kernel space is considered as prior knowledge from image retrieval to aid the design of the kernel used by SVMs. This is achieved by maximizing a criterion, such as one based on scatter matrices, through gradient-based search methods, incurring very little computational overhead to real-time retrieval process. Experimental results on two benchmark image databases demonstrate the improved retrieval performance by the dynamically designed kernel and hence the effectiveness of the proposed approach for SVM based image retrieval
2370296
Regularized Discriminative Direction for Shape Difference Analysis
The "discriminative direction" has been proven useful to reveal the subtle difference between two anatomical shape classes. When a shape moves along this direction, its deformation will best manifest the class difference detected by a kernel classifier. However, we observe that such a direction cannot maintain a shape's "anatomical" correctness, introducing spurious difference. To overcome this drawback, we develop a regularized discriminative direction by requiring a shape to conform to its population distribution when it deforms along the discriminative direction. Instead of iterative optimization, an analytic solution is provided to directly work out this direction. Experimental study shows its superior performance in detecting and localizing the difference of hippocampal shapes for sex. The result is supported by other independent research in the same domain.
9891360
Image retrieval with SVM active learning embedding Euclidean search
Image retrieval with relevance feedback suffers from the small sample problem. Recently, SVM active learning has been proposed to tackle this problem, showing promising results. However, a small but sufficient number of initially labelled samples are still required to ensure subsequent efficient active learning and good retrieval performance. In the existing method, the user is asked to label more images before active learning starts. In this paper, a method of embedding Euclidean search into SVM active learning is proposed. With the help of Euclidean search, the adverse effect on retrieval performance due to lack of initially labelled samples can be reduced. Experimental results demonstrate the improvement by the proposed method, especially when the number of initially labelled samples is small.
15085849
A novel framework for SVM-based image retrieval on large databases
In this paper, a novel framework is proposed to deliver a fast, robust, and generally applicable SVM-based image retrieval for large databases. A quick test scheme is developed, and on-line kernel learning is employed to realize it after analyzing the relationship between them. Then an upper bound on maximum test scope is derived to speed up testing further. Also, the general applicability is well maintained because this framework does not need a kernel function and index structure to be pre-defined. Taking the advantages of this framework, more sophisticated SVM can be used to improve retrieval performance while keeping short response time. Experimental results on large image databases verify the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed framework.
17672081
A Sub-Vector Weighting Scheme for Image Retrieval with Relevance Feedback
In image retrieval with relevance feedback, feature components are weighted to reflect the high-level concepts, and a user's subjective perception, embodied in the images labelled by the user in the feedback. However, the number of labelled images is often small and the covariance matrix needed for weighting will be singular. For this reason, the commonly used methods discard the mutual correlation among the feature components completely and use a diagonal covariance matrix. In this paper, a sub-vector weighting scheme is proposed. This scheme partitions a multi-dimensional visual feature vector into multiple low-dimensional sub-vectors. The singularity of the covariance matrix for each sub-vector can be avoided due to the lower dimensionality of the sub-vectors. Thus, the mutual correlation in each sub-vector can be retained for weighting and an optimally weighted similarity metric can be applied on each sub-vector. The similarity scores obtained from different sub-vectors are combined, as the final scor...
34620301
Video Local Pattern based Image Matching for Visual Mapping
Image matching plays an important role in visual mapping, a critical task of vision based mobile robot navigation. Based on the observation that the visual content in these video sequences generally changes in a slow and continuous mode, a concept of "video local pattern" is proposed to model each video frame, which is defined as a set of frames that are visually-similar and temporally-adjacent to that frame. Instead of manually labelling, a tracking based method is developed to automatically detect the local pattern for each frame. A model is then estimated from a local pattern, and the matching of images is performed by comparing these models. Experimental results demonstrated its improvement over that comparing individual frames
15972722
Optimal Approximation Algorithms for Multi-agent Combinatorial Problems with Discounted Price Functions
Submodular functions are an important class of functions in combinatorial optimization which satisfy the natural properties of decreasing marginal costs. The study of these functions has led to strong structural properties with applications in many areas. Recently, there has been significant interest in extending the theory of algorithms for optimizing combinatorial problems (such as network design problem of spanning tree) over submodular functions. Unfortunately, the lower bounds under the general class of submodular functions are known to be very high for many of the classical problems. 
In this paper, we introduce and study an important subclass of submodular functions, which we call discounted price functions. These functions are succinctly representable and generalize linear cost functions. In this paper we study the following fundamental combinatorial optimization problems: Edge Cover, Spanning Tree, Perfect Matching and Shortest Path, and obtain tight upper and lower bounds for these problems. 
The main technical contribution of this paper is designing novel adaptive greedy algorithms for the above problems. These algorithms greedily build the solution whist rectifying mistakes made in the previous steps.
16195917
New Key-Recovery Attacks on HMAC/NMAC-MD4 and NMAC-MD5
At Crypto '07, Fouque, Leurent and Nguyen presented full key-recovery attacks on HMAC/NMAC-MD4 and NMAC-MD5, by extending the partial key-recovery attacks of Contini and Yin from Asiacrypt '06. Such attacks are based on collision attacks on the underlying hash function, and the most expensive stage is the recovery of the socalled outer key. In this paper, we show that the outer key can be recovered with near-collisions instead of collisions: near-collisions can be easier to find and can disclose more information. This improves the complexity of the FLN attack on HMAC/NMAC-MD4: the number of MAC queries decreases from 288 to 272, and the number of MD4 computations decreases from 295 to 277. We also improved the total complexity of the related-key attack on NMAC-MD5. Moreover, our attack on NMAC- MD5 can partially recover the outer key without the knowledge of the inner key, which might be of independent interest.
9818080
Automatic image annotation and retrieval using weighted feature selection
The development of technology generates huge amounts of non-textual information, such as images. An efficient image annotation and retrieval system is highly desired. Clustering algorithms make it possible to represent visual features of images with finite symbols. Based on this, many statistical models, which analyze correspondence between visual features and words and discover hidden semantics, have been published. These models improve the annotation and retrieval of large image databases. However, image data usually have a large number of dimensions. Traditional clustering algorithms assign equal weights to these dimensions, and become confounded in the process of dealing with these dimensions. In this paper, we propose weighted feature selection algorithm as a solution to this problem. For a given cluster, we determine relevant features based on histogram analysis and assign greater weight to relevant features as compared to less relevant features. We have implemented various different models to link visual tokens with keywords based on the clustering results of K-means algorithm with weighted feature selection and without feature selection, and evaluated performance using precision, recall and correspondence accuracy using benchmark dataset. The results show that weighted feature selection is better than traditional ones for automatic image annotation and retrieval.
46376386
Improving Image Annotations Using WordNet
The development of technology generates huge amounts of non-textual information, such as images. An efficient image annotation and retrieval system is highly desired. Clustering algorithms make it possible to represent visual features of images with finite symbols. Based on this, many statistical models, which analyze correspondence between visual features and words and discover hidden semantics, have been published. These models improve the annotation and retrieval of large image databases. However, current state of the art including our previous work produces too many irrelevant keywords for images during annotation. In this paper, we propose a novel approach that augments the classical model with generic knowledge-based, WordNet. Our novel approach strives to prune irrelevant keywords by the usage of WordNet. To identify irrelevant keywords, we investigate various semantic similarity measures between keywords and finally fuse outcomes of all these measures together to make a final decision. We have implemented various models to link visual tokens with keywords based on knowledge-based, WordNet and evaluated performance using precision, and recall using benchmark dataset. The results show that by augmenting knowledge-based with classical model we can improve annotation accuracy by removing irrelevant keywords.
14024123
Visual Secret Sharing Schemes for Multiple Secret Images Allowing the Rotation of Shares
In this paper, a method is proposed to construct a visual secret sharing (VSS) scheme for multiple secret images in which each share can be rotated with 180 degrees in decryption. The proposed VSS scheme can encrypt more number of secret images compared with the normal VSS schemes. Furthermore, the proposed technique can be applied to the VSS scheme that allows to turn over some shares in decryption. From the theoretical point of view, it is interesting to note that such VSS schemes cannot be obtained from so-called basis matrices straightforwardly.