MSc Projects :: 2004-2005

The following MSc project is offered for the 2004-2005 session. Further details can be obtained from me by email.

GJB-1: An Online Image Library

Client: Mr. Jerry Lampson, QR8 Design

Suitable for SST (or ACS/ASE with advanced features noted below)

The client runs a successful website design and photography business, and is looking for a means of selling a growing number of stock photographs through an online site. The following features are likely to be required (specific requirements will be elicited through discussion with the client):
  • The ability to upload image files in a variety of resolutions;
  • Searching according to key words;
  • A shopping basket feature;
  • Categorisation of images according to themes (e.g., landscapes, portraits);
  • The ability to maintain a record of the images purchased by particular users;
  • The ability to deal with images that are licensed in different ways (e.g., rights managed , royalty-free).

For ACS/ASE students, the following advanced features might also be considered:

  • The ability to extract image metadata from EXIF tags embedded in JPEG and RAW files.
  • Content-based image searching (e.g., finding images which have a colour histogram that is similar to that of a given image).
  • A "skinnable" architecture that allows a different look-and-feel to be applied by selecting particular sets of graphic components.
  • Amazon-style recommendations for new images that fit with a customer's existing profile (e.g., based on the keywords associated with previously purchased images).
  • Automatic tagging of color and monochrome images based on image histograms.
Resources required

It is likely that the system will be implemented using PHP and MySQL, with eventual deployment on an Apache server.

The Java API for handling EXIF information supplied by Drew Noakes might be useful.

Prerequisites

Good programming skills. Some interest in digital imaging, or photography in general, would be an advantage but this is not mandatory.

Selected reading

See Martin Cooke's notes for the Java e-commerce module here.

Last modified on 13th December 2004