Image retrieval using local color features

In this study, an image indexing and retrieval approach, using local color features and a modified weighted color distortion measure, is proposed. In the proposed approach, each image is segmented into several regions by a watershed segmentation algorithm, and then the mutual relationships between connected color regions are extracted as local color features. That is, an image can be represented as a set of connected (adjacent) color regions and the mutual relationships between connected color regions. In the image retrieval stage, the similarity between a query image and a target image will contain not only direct region correspondence but also the mutual relationships between connected color regions. A modified weighted color distortion measure is proposed, in which different color elements in the YUV color space receive different weights so that the illumination variation effect is greatly reduced.