Contour salience descriptors for effective image retrieval and analysis

This work exploits the resemblance between content-based image retrieval and image analysis with respect to the design of image descriptors and their effectiveness. In this context, two shape descriptors are proposed: contour saliences and segment saliences. Contour saliences revisits its original definition, where the location of concave points was a problem, and provides a robust approach to incorporate concave saliences. Segment saliences introduces salience values for contour segments, making it possible to use an optimal matching algorithm as distance function. The proposed descriptors are compared with convex contour saliences, curvature scale space, and beam angle statistics using a fish database with 11,000 images organized in 1,100 distinct classes. The results indicate segment saliences as the most effective descriptor for this particular application and confirm the improvement of the contour salience descriptor in comparison with convex contour saliences.