Architecture of a networked image search and retrieval system

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Abstract
Large scale networked image retrieval systems face a number of problems that are not fully satisfied by current systems. On one hand, integrated solutions that store all image data centrally are often limited in terms of scalability and autonomy of data providers. On the other hand, WWW-based search engines proved to be fairly scalable, and data providers retain their autonomy. However, such engines often confront users with links to servers that are not available or to images that no longer exist, i.e., they are unable to keep their meta-database consistent with the repositories' contents. Furthermore, existing solutions often neglect the cost of image delivery. The considerable variations in the effective bandwidth in today's Internet lead to highly unpredictable response times, which are often intolerable from the user's point of view.This paper presents the architecture of Chariot, a networked image search and retrieval system that tackles these concerns. With respect to scalability and autonomy, Chariot follows the approach of WWW-based search engines by maintaining only the meta-data in a central database. Various specialized components (feature extraction, indexes, images servers) are coordinated by a middleware component that employs transactional process management to enforce consistency between the meta-data and all components. Moreover, Chariot incorporates mechanisms to provide more predictable response times for the image delivery over the Internet by employing network-aware image servers. These servers trade off the quality of the images to be delivered with the bandwidth required to transmit the images.

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