Apparatus and method for retrieving moving picture using tree-structured moving picture index descriptor

A method for retrieving a moving picture using a descriptor having a tree-structured moving picture index of the moving picture in response to a query picture from the user, comprising the steps of:

• a) allowing a query processor to receive user-defined values and a query picture from the user, extract a query feature vector from the query picture and retrieval precision from the user-defined values, output the query feature vector and the retrieval precision respectively to a feature vector comparator and a threshold comparator and send a first retrieval request signal to a stack controller;
• b) allowing the stack controller to send a second retrieval request signal to a decoder upon receiving the first retrieval request signal from the query processor;
• c) alowing the decoder to output a key frame number of an in-index highest-order node, included in an index-object, and in-index edge information and a list of frame representative threshold values, included in a key frame object, to a syntax analyzer in response to the retrieval request signal from the stack controller;
• d) allowing the syntax analyzer to transfer the key frame number of the in-index highest-order node and the in-index edge information from the decoder to the stack controller and the frame representative threshold value list from the decoder to the threshold comparator;
• e) allowing the stack controller to stack the key frame number of the in-index highest-order node and the in-index edge information from the syntax analyzer in a stack;
• f) allowing the stack controller to read a specific key frame number from the stack and transfer it to decoder and an accumulator;
• g) allowing the decoder to output a feature vector designated by the specific key frame number from the stack controller to a feature vector comparator and then allowing the feature vector comparator to compare the feature vector from the decoder with the query feature vector extracted by the query processor at said step a) and output the compared result to the threshold comparator;
• h) allowing the threshold comparator to compare the compared result of from the feature vector comparator with the retrieval precision extracted by the query processor at said step a) and the frame representative threshold value list transferred by the syntax analyzer at said step d) to determine whether the specific key frame number is concerned with the query picture by determining whether the feature vector designated by the specific key frame number satisfies with the retrieval precision and the frame representative threshold value;
• i) returning to said step f) if the specific key frame number from the stack controller is not concerned with the query picture at said step h} and accumulating the specific key frame number from stack controller in the accumulator if the specific key frame number is concerned with the query picture at said step h);
• and
• j) determining whether the stack is empty, and allowing the accumulator to output the accumulated result to the user if stack is empty.

A method for retrieving a moving picture using a descriptor having a tree-structured moving picture index of the moving picture, comprising the steps of:

• a) creating the tree-structured moving picture index, wherein said step a) includes the steps of:
• a-1) extracting a descriptor and feature vectors from the moving picture;
• a-2) upwardly sampling the moving picture, which is partitioned into shots, defining each sample as a node and defining a quantitative representative relation between a sample layer and a mother layer as an edge;
• and a-3) repeating said step a-2) to accumulate samples into the tree-structured moving picture index to a predetermined layer;
• and
• b) retrieving the moving picture based on the tree-structured moving picture index, wherein said step b) includes the step of:
• b-1) retrieving the moving picture in connection with a retrieval precision desired by the user on the basis of the fact that each frame in the tree-structured moving picture index is representative of a sub-tree, the frame being a vertex of the sub-tree, within the range of a quantitative threshold value,
• wherein the tree-structured moving picture index includes a key frame information, shot information and index information, each of which has annotation about the moving picture,
• wherein the key frame information and the shot information are randomly accessible and represent subordinate and representative relations between the objects using attributes, and
• wherein the index information includes a highest-order node in the tree-structured moving picture index and the entire information of moving picture data.