This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Third International Conference on Visual Information Systems, VISUAL'99, held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, in June 1999. The 100 revised papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions. The book is divided into topical sections on visual information systems, interactive visual query, Internet search engines, video parsing, spatial data, visual languages, features and indexes for image retrieval, object retrieval, ranking and performance, shape retrieval, retrieval systems, image compression, virtual environments, recognition systems, and visualization systems.

Comprises 25 revised full papers presented at the 8th International Conference on Visual Information Systems, VISUAL 2005, held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands in July 2005. These represent the current state of the art of visual information processing, feature extraction and aggregation at semantic level and content-based retrieval, as well as the study of user intention in query processing, and issues of delivery and consumption of multimedia content.

Discusses recent advances in the related technologies of multimedia computers, videophones, video-over-Internet, HDTV, digital satellite TV and interactive computer games. The text analyzes ways of achieving more effective navigation techniques, data management functions, and higher throughout networking. It synthesizes data on visual information venues, tracking the enormous commercial potential for new components and compatible systems.

This book is a thoroughly arranged anthology outlining the state of the art in the emerging area of visual informationsystems. The chapters presented are a selection of thoroughly refereed and revised full papers first presented at the First International Conference on visual Information Systems held in February 1996. Next generation information systems have a high visual content, and there will be a shift in emphasis from a paradigm of predominantly alphanumeric data processing to one of visual information processing. The book provides a detailed introductory chapter, two keynotes by leading authorities, sections on design and architecture, database management and modelling, contend-based search and retrieval, feature extraction and indexing, query model and interface, and object recognition and content organization.

Presently, in our world, visual information dominates. The turn of the millenium marks the age of visual information systems. Enabled by picture sensors of all kinds turning digital, visual information will not only enhance the value of existing information, it will also open up a new horizon of previously untapped information sources. There is a huge demand for visual information access from the consumer. As well, the handling of visual information is boosted by the rapid increase of hardware and Internet capabilities. Advanced technology for visual information systems is more urgently needed than ever before: not only new computational methods to retrieve, index, compress and uncover pictorial information, but also new metaphors to organize user interfaces. Also, new ideas and algorithms are needed which allow access to very large databases of digital pictures and videos. Finally we should not forget new systems with visual interfaces integrating the above components into new types of image, video or multimedia databases and hyperdocuments. All of these technologies will enable the construction of systems that are radically different from conventional information systems. Many novel issues will need to be addressed: query formulation for pictorial information, consistency management thereof, indexing and assessing the quality of these systems. Historically, the expression Visual Information Systems can be understood either as a system for image information or as visual system for any kind information.

Visualinformationsystemsareinformationsystemsforvisualcomputing.Visual computing is computing on visual objects. Some visual objects such as images are inherently visual in the sense that their primary representation is the visual representation.Somevisualobjectssuchasdatastructuresarederivativelyvisual in the sense that their primary representation is not the visual representation, but can be transformed into a visual representation. Images and data structures are the two extremes. Other visual objects such as maps may fall somewhere in between the two. Visual computing often involves the transformation from one type of visual objects into another type of visual objects, or into the same type of visual objects, to accomplish certain objectives such as information reduction, object recognition, and so on. In visual information systems design it is also important to ask the foll- ing question: who performs the visual computing? The answer to this question determines the approach to visual computing. For instance it is possible that primarily the computer performs the visual computing and the human merely observes the results. It is also possible that primarily the human performs the visual computing and the computer plays a supporting role. Often the human and the computer are both involved as equal partners in visual computing and there are visual interactions. Formal or informal visual languages are usually needed to facilitate such visual interactions.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Visual Information Systems, VISUAL 2008, held in Salerno, Italy, September 11-12, 2008. The 35 papers presented in this volume, together with 3 keynote speeches, were carefully reviewed and selected from 58 submissions. The topics covered are information and data visualization; advances techniques for visual information management; mobile visual information systems; image and video indexing and retrieval; applications of visual information systems; and industrial experiences.