An approach to content-based retrieval of multimedia data

This paper presents the proposal of a data model tailored for multimedia data representation and the main characteristics of a Multimedia Query Language that exploits the features of the model. The model addresses the aspects related to data presentation, manipulation and content-based retrieval. It consists of three parts: the Multimedia Description Model, which provides a structural view of raw multimedia data; the Multimedia Presentation Model and the Multimedia Interpretation Model. In the paper we focus the attention on the structuring of a {em multimedia data model} that provides support for content-based retrieval of multimedia data. The Query Language is an extension of a traditional query language. It has been extended to allow the formulation of interrogations that can contemporarily consider restrictions on features, concepts and the structural aspects of the objects of a Multimedia Database System. Furthermore, the language supports the formulation of queries with imprecise conditions. The outcome of an interrogation is an approximate set of database objects which partially match the query.