A spatial filter for similarity retrieval

Recently, Yang and Lee(13) proposed a powerful data structure, the 2D B-string, to express the spatial knowledge embedded in iconic images. The data structure can be used to describe images with partly- or completely- overlapping objects without the need for partitioning the objects. We propose a signature file method for similarity retrieval of symbolic images described in 2D B-strings. The signatures of images are extracted by the disjoint coding and the superimposed coding techniques. A linear hashing function is adopted to organise the signature file. The experimental results show that the method has better performance than the one proposed by Lee, Yang and Chen.(11)