Visual Information Retrieval

The increasing use of multimedia in computer applications has increased the relevance of visual databases. These visual databases require new methods for archiving and retrieving information, as traditional approaches used previously to index textual data are no longer appropriate. Visual Information Retrieval concentrates on solutions for representation, indexing, and querying by content of visual information, reviewing the main approaches and techniques available. Single image indexing, querying and retrieval by content, video segmentation, annotation, and content-based indexing are all examined. The book will appeal to practitioners and graduates/researchers involved in visual database issues in multimedia and image processing.

Alberto del Bimbo was with IBM Italy SpA from 1977 to 1988. In 1995, he started teaching as a full professor of computer systems at the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Florence, Italy, where he presently serves as the Director of the Dipartimento of Sistemi e Informatica. He is a member of IEEE and IAPR and presently serves as the chairman of the Italian chapter of IAPR. His scientific interests cover pattern recognition, image databases, multimedia, visual languages, and advanced man-machine interaction. He is the author of over 140 scientific publications appearing in international journals and conference proceedings. He has been the chairman of international conferences in the fields of image processing and multimedia computing. He is presently an associate editor of Pattern Recognition, Journal of Visual Languages and Computing, and Multimedia Tools and Applications. He has been a scientific consultant in multimedia computing and imaging technology for the European Community, local administrations and companies.