Image Data Research Service Using Feature Amount Search
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional trademark research services face difficulties in searching for similar images across various databases beyond their own systems, limiting their ability to detect illegal use due to file format differences and lack of flexibility in internet searches.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for providing illegal and proper use research services for image data, which includes a server apparatus and terminal apparatus connected through a network, allowing for the calculation of feature amounts and search for identical or similar images based on these features across the web, with a research subject database and condition setting for reporting search results to clients.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a search is conducted by utilizing a special DB provided and administrated by a specific organization, then the search can be conducted with stable quality, but it is difficult to research other locations including other databases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a robot as an intermediary that crawls multiple databases and converts their search results into a unified format. This intermediary layer enables broad search coverage across different organizations' databases while maintaining reliable, standardized result presentation to the user.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the search function into two parts: a centralized robot that handles diverse database crawling and conversion, and a unified search interface that provides consistent results. This segmentation allows the system to maintain reliability at the interface level while achieving versatility through the robot's ability to access multiple databases.
2Adaptability or versatility
If only a text search can be conducted through the Internet, then the search system remains simple, but it is impossible to search for a feature of image data itself
Solution Approach 1:
The robot acts as an intermediary that handles the complexity of image feature extraction and conversion. It crawls image data from multiple databases, converts images to standardized formats, and extracts features, thereby enabling advanced image search capabilities without requiring the client system to be complex.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional text-based search mechanisms with image feature-based search. Instead of searching through text descriptions, the system converts images to feature vectors and performs similarity searches in the feature space, enabling direct visual content search.
3Ease of operation
If a similarity or not-similarity is determined by using predetermined data, then the determination process is simple, but it is difficult to determine similarities derived from a file format difference and a modification difference
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the parameters used for similarity determination from simple predetermined data to comprehensive image features including color histograms, edge information, and texture patterns. This allows the system to detect similarities despite file format differences and modifications by comparing fundamental visual characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The robot performs preliminary actions by pre-converting images to standardized formats and pre-extracting features before the actual search. This preliminary processing enables accurate similarity determination during the search phase without requiring complex real-time processing, maintaining operational simplicity while improving detection accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
In a system for providing an illegal use research service for image data, the image data received from a terminal apparatus is registered as a research subject, a research condition for research whether or not the image data being registered is illegally used by a Web site on the network is set, image data that are identical or similar to the image data being the research subject from a web site on the network are searched for based on a feature amount and the research condition, and a search result is informed as a research report to the research client using said terminal apparatus.