One of the unique aspects of Imprezzeo Image Search is the way it combines several aspects of visual search technology. There are three layers to the Imprezzeo application. The first layer is a general content search, where image features such as colour, shapes, textures are indexed in Imprezzeo's database and users can match reference images based on feature similarity. Next, Imprezzeo uses face detection to determine the presence of humans faces in an image. Lastly, Imprezzeo adds face recognition to allow a user to search for a specific “persona” using visual matching against Imprezzeo's database of recognised individuals, ie it knows who they are by face and name. Combining these visual search technolgies into an integrated and scalable enterprise search platform is what makes Imprezzeo so appealing to businesses with large image databases.
When we initially began talking to people about Imprezzeo, we had to explain these various aspects of visual search, especially the concept of facial recognition. However, with several major vendors beginning to offer various forms of visual search for consumers, the whole concept is becoming much more understood by the general public. Over the past year, Microsoft and Google have introduced rudimentary visual search options into their consumer photo applications. But, it has been Apple, with it's recently introduced iPhoto 09, which includes face recognition, that has caused the most excitement. Not so much because of what it does; its FR technology is just OK, but, in typical Apple fashion, they've developed a very slick user interface that makes it easy for anyone to use face recognition technology. As visual search is used by more and more consumers, we believe it's only a matter of time before it becomes a standard component of popular search engines, content management, ecommerce, and digital asset management systems.