Image database navigation: A globe-Al approach

Abstract

Image database visualisation and navigation tools become increasingly important as image collections keep ever growing. Demanded are easily navigable and intuitive ways of displaying and browsing image databases allowing the user to view images from a collection that facilitates finding images of interest. In this paper we introduce a way of viewing a complete collection of images by projecting them onto a spherical globe for colour-based image database navigation. Taking median hue and brightness of images, features that are useful also for image retrieval purposes, and using these as a set of co-ordinates which then determine the location on the surface of the globe where the image is projected. Navigation is performed by rotation (e.g. choosing a different hue range) and zooming into areas of interest. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.