QBIC Enables Remote Museum Tours

	SAN JOSE, Calif., (April 21, 2000) -- Sometimes an Almaden research project will end up far from the hurly-burly of Silicon Valley. In the case of Almaden's Query By Image Content project, it has found its way into the quiet hallways of an art-lover's mecca -- the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. QBIC is housed on the award-winning Hermitage Museum's Web site, which allows people around the world to search and tour some of the world's most beloved artwork without leaving their homes. QBIC technology uses a unique search method that looks for matching colors and shapes instead of, or in addition to, keywords. A person can perform a database query based on visual characteristics as opposed to title and artist. Web surfers attempt to replicate masterpieces from artists like Leonardo Da Vinci and Pablo Picasso, then QBIC searches a database containing all of the museum's art looking for pieces with similar shape and color. QBIC is a computer science project spearheaded by Dr. Dragutin Petkovic, manager of visual media management, and Almaden researchers Jim Hafner, Wayne Niblack, Myron Flickner and Ron Barber. The entire Hermitage Museum site was developed and continues to be maintained by IBM as part of a community relations project that showcases dynamic e-business solutions. In addition to using Almaden's QBIC technology, the Hermitage Web site also incorporates technology developed at IBM's T.J. Watson Research Center, the Haifa Research Laboratory and the Santa Teresa Laboratory. On March 21, the Hermitage Museum received the "Best Internet Site in Russia" award from the Russian Internet Academy at a ceremony in Moscow. Visit the Hermitage Museum and experience Almaden's QBIC technology. Related Information: QBIC - Query By Image Content   QBIC Demos: Color Search Layout Search

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