SBIR Phase I: Discovery Analyst: A Data Mining System for Image Databases

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project describes a powerful new approach to GIS data-mining for large image databases. The current inefficiencies in extracting information from these databases are primarily caused by the limited ability to extract baseline geographic information (such as road networks) from images. The proposed system addresses this need by combining feature extraction efficiencies with the ability to refine queries efficiently. The feature extraction system reduces the labor required for extracting information from imagery and the query refinement system incorporates user-driven and data-driven strategies to focus on interesting and relevant discoveries. The proposed system will also provide solutions for multi-media applications containing imagery, web-based applications, medical image repositories, and other applications. Geo-spatial information technology is rapidly becoming a cornerstone of scientific research, environmental modeling, local government planning, and federal government security programs. The proposed system also has commercial potential for other application domains such as medical imaging.