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Visual Digital Libraries

The overall aim of the project is to facilitate visual access to digital libraries through novel visual search paradigms in additional to the traditional text search approach. You will research (and develop) new search engines based on visual retrieval methods: For example, the user submits an image of an oil painting to retrieve all documents in the digital library that depict (and discuss) the very same painting. This task, also known as near identical search, should be able to recognise images, where the query is only part of an image, say the head of a particular person.

The digital content used in the project is composed of television news, digital Open University library video, newspaper archives, museum photos and personal digital photos.

This PhD project has two important aspects: automation and scalability.

Project Objectives

Research visual representations of images and queries and retrieval methods involving quantisation and visual vocabulary

Research and develop a query-by-example mode using automated content-based analysis using above features in a way that is eminently scalable and focuses on fast access, eg, using the analogon of posting lists for text search engines with the quantised visual vocabulary; fingerprinting techniques for retrieval; locality sensitive hashing or similar.

The successful applicant should have the following skills:

• Strong programming skills in Java/C++ under Linux environment
• A firm grasp of algebra and probability theory
• Experience in machine learning
• Ability to interact successfully with others to learn and teach new skills
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability to write technical reports clearly
• Ability to organise own work with minimal supervision
• Ability to prioritise own work in response to deadlines
• Ability to handle constructive feedback
• Ability to work in a team
• A plus: Research experience in multimedia information retrieval

Bibliography

O Chum and J Philbin and M Isard and A Zisserman (2007): Scalable near identical image and shot detection. In CIVR '07: Proceedings ACM int'l conference on Image and video retrieval, pp 549--556,

The bursary will cover the student fees and living expenses of around 1050 pound Sterling/month.

For further information on this PhD project please contact:

Professor Stefan Rueger
Professor of Knowledge Media

+44 (0)1908 655945

Dr Suzanne Little
Research Associate

+44 (0)1908 659834

Additional Information:

The Knowledge Media Institute (http://kmi.open.ac.uk) is home to internationally recognised researchers in semantic web, artificial intelligence, cognitive science, human-computer interaction, information retrieval and multimedia processing. KMi offers students an intellectually challenging environment with exceptional research and computer facilities. You will be joining a dynamic PhD programme with about 15 other students in KMi, plus peers in the Computing department and Institute of Educational Technology who together make up the OU's Centre for Research in Computing (http://crc.open.ac.uk/).

KMi sees PhD students as critical to its mission, and awards Studentships (£12,978/year tax free for 2008/09), with no additional fees, compulsory examinations or teaching required. Participation is required in CRC PhD events and thesis milestones, as specified in the KMI Research Degrees policy (http://kmi.open.ac.uk/studentships/policy.php). Additional training courses to develop your generic research skills are run across the OU, attendance at which is agreed with your supervisor.

The Open University (http://www.open.ac.uk) is UK's only distance learning university with a dedicated mission for excellence in teaching and research. PhD programmes are residential, however, and the student would carry out their research at the KMi in the Open University's central Milton Keynes campus.

Milton Keynes (http://www.mkweb.co.uk/), located in the triangle Cambridge, Oxford and London, is an exciting and vibrant place to be. It is one of the fastest growing cities in the country with fantastic shopping facilities, Xscape Snow slope, new skydiving centre and much more. Milton Keynes is also home to some major employers with Abbey National, Argos and The Open University having headquarters in the city. With more businesses continuing to locate here, unemployment levels are among the lowest in the country. Milton Keynes has excellent transport links with the M1 motorway and A5 running alongside the city and a fast train link into London Euston (35 minutes).

Applications

This studentship is available for immediate start. Applications should comprise an application form, C.V. and a proposal outlining how you would tackle this project. They should be submitted to:

Research School
The Open University
Walton Hall
Milton Keynes
MK7 6AA
UK