Study and evaluation of different Fourier methods for image retrieval

Shape is one of the primary low-level image features exploited in the newly emerged content-based image retrieval (CBIR). Many shape methods exist. Among these shape methods, Fourier descriptor (FD) is one of the most widely used shape descriptors due to its simple computation, clarity and coarse to fine description capability. FD has been applied to a variety of applications, including image retrieval application. Generally, FD can be acquired in a number of ways, however, FD acquired from different ways can have different retrieval performance. In this paper, we study shape retrieval using FD. Specifically, we study different ways of acquiring FD, the number of FD features needed for general shape description and the retrieval performance of different FD. A Java client-server retrieval framework has been developed to facilitate the study. The retrieval performance of the different FD is tested using a standard shape database and a commonly used performance measurement.