ParaDISE (Parallel Distributed Image Search Engine) is an image retrieval engine developed by the medGIFT research group as a replacement of the GIFT search engine in the context of the KHRESMOI project. The main concepts behind its design are scalability, flexibility, expandability and interoperability, allowing it to be used in standalone applications, integrated systems and for research purposes.
With its modular infrastructure, it's easy to add new features to the system.
The system supports distributed computing for offline tasks using Apache Hadoop and index structuring optimizations for fast retrieval times.
The system is built using standard protocols and data exchange formats, making it easy to combine with other retrieval systems.
The core of ParaDISE is made up of four basic components
These four basic components are used to create two composite components
ParaDISE is currently used in the context of KHRESMOI, a European project a multilingual multimodal search and access system for biomedical information and documents
ParaDISE is also the backbone of Shambala, a modern and interactive image retrieval front-end which uses HTML5 and supports the Leap Motion motion sensor technology.
ParaDISE serves as the backend of a search prototype developed for Google Glass, which allows searching for images by using the device's integrated camera
ParaDISE is available in two editions, outlined below
In theory, there is no difference between
theory and practice. But, in practice, there is.
Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut
The recommended way of using ParaDISE is through the Maven build system. If you wish to start using the system without modifying the source code, download the pre-configured sample project (currently for the ASL edition only) and follow the instructions in the getting started guide.
Alternatively, you can add the following items to an existing Maven POM configuration file to get access to all the features of ParaDISE :
<!-- Access to the MedGIFT Maven repository --> <repositories> <repository> <id>medgift</id> <name>MedGIFT Maven Repository</name> <url>http://faster.hevs.ch:8081/nexus/content/repositories/medgift</url> </repository> </repositories> ... <!-- ParaDISE dependencies --> <dependencies> <dependency> <groupId>ch.hevs.medgift.paradise</groupId> <artifactId>paradise-indexer-asl</artifactId> <version>0.0.1</version> </dependency> <dependency> <groupId>ch.hevs.medgift.paradise</groupId> <artifactId>paradise-seeker-asl</artifactId> <version>0.0.1</version> </dependency> ... </dependencies>
Simply select the flavor of ParaDISE you want to use in the artifactId : paradise-{component}-asl OR paradise-{component}-gpl (coming soon)
NOTE :It is sufficient to add the Indexer and Seeker components to the POM file, as these will pull in the rest of the ParaDISE building blocks. You can also specify individual components as dependencies : paradise-extractor-{license}, paradise-descriptor-{license}, paradise-storer-{license}, paradise-fusor-{license}
If you wish to work with the source code directly, download the package containing all the Maven projects : ParaDISE-ASL OR ParaDISE-GPL (coming soon).
Once downloaded, unzip the archive and import the projects into your preferred IDE. Finally, install the Maven artifacts of ParaDISE into your local repository using the IDE or by executing the following Maven command in the root project's directory :
mvn install
Be sure to have a look at the guide as well, as it explains some key notions of the system
Download a sample set of images here. The link leads to a collection of >2000 images that can be used for an initial test of the system (indexing & retrieval). The collection is made available by infochimps, a company active in the fields of Big Data and Cloud Computing.
This guide explains the few steps to set up the system and perform basic indexing and retrieval tasks.
Here is a small overview of the ParaDISE development team.
Lead Architect
Developed and structured the ParaDISE backend
Developer
Developed the text search component and the Web Service layer of ParaDISE
Developer / System tester
Worked on the integration of visual features and real-world testing of the system
Concept / Supervisor
Supervised and guided the development process of ParaDISE
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