Whether you use the high- or low-level eVe API, there are five fundamental actions that your application must perform to enable eVes visual search engine. These actions include:
Analyzing Files.
Before you can use eVe to search and retrieve an image from a database
or flat file, you must analyze that source image. During analysis, eVe
segments an image into distinct object regions, then generates scale-independent
descriptions of those regions, known as visual signatures.
To generate a visual signature for an image, you instantiate the MediaObject,
load the image into it, and pass it to the analyze method within the analyze
class. See the Analyzing a File code
sample for an example of how to code image analysis within an application.
Storing/Creating
a MediaCollection. eVe stores information about images in MediaObjects
and MediaCollections. A MediaObject contains a single image and all the
information related to that image. A MediaCollection is a container for
multiple MediaObjects. You must store analyzed images in MediaObjects
and MediaCollections before you can use eVe to perform visual searches.
See the Creating a MediaCollection
code sample for an example of how to add an image to a MediaCollection.
Indexing.
After visual signatures for images are generated, they are organized in
a proprietary indexing scheme for extremely fast retrievals. When using
the high-level API, eVe automatically performs the indexing of images
as you add or delete images for a MediaCollection. When using the low-level
API, you must manually invoke methods for image indexing when deleting
or adding images for a MediaCollection.
Performing a
Search. After analyzing and storing images, use eVes API to enable
the searching an sorting of images within a MediaCollection. eVe provides
users with a number of methods for initiating a search, including text,
image, object selection, and visual vocabulary.
Displaying Search Results. Once a visual search is completed, use eVe to display the results of that search.
These five functions of the eVe SDK provide the building blocks for developing a visual search application. Use the code samples provided in the Code Samples section to see examples of how to code these functions within your application.