Image retrieval using topological structure of user sketch

Content-based image retrieval system retrieves an image from a database using visual information. Among approaches to expressing visual aspects in queries, "query by sketch" is most convenient and expressive. However, the query drawn by the user is typically quite different from the original image and makes it difficult to retrieve the intended image effectively. In this paper, a new method to retrieve the intended image from imperfect queries is presented. The user-drawn query image is converted to a prime edge graph that represents the topological structure of the objects in the image. The experimental results show that the system retrieves the intended image even from a partial or shifted query.