Pixsta
Encyclopedia
Pixta Ltd. is a UK-based image and video search company founded in 2006 by Alexander Straub
, Dr. Daniel Heesch and David Williams.
and retrieval in a fundamentally different way to other exponents of web search technology, allowing users to browse and search for relevant items using images rather than keywords. In essence, PIXSTA enables an image to be submitted as a search term, generating results in the form of a set of visually similar images. Lately PIXSTA got transformed into Empora Ltd which is enhancing the technology and adding a social layer on top of the visual search technology.
, UK.
The search engine
does not rely on tags that may, or may not have been, added to images; instead, it analyses images down to the pixel
level, to identify visual attributes like shape, texture, colour and the kind of objects they contain. PIXSTA’s technology compares images directly at this visual level rather than at the textual level, making tag
s unnecessary.
and Yahoo, the challenge facing PIXSTA is the profiting from its technology. Its first attempt at making a profit is in the form of an online advertising network
for fashion retail. In this network is predominantly PIXSTA's own websites - however a number of fashion media brands seem to have piloted or are piloting PIXSTA's solution in the shopping sections of their websites. The database
of images comprises the online collections of multiple fashion retailers – effectively, advertisers. The system is presently a ‘closed’ system, in that search term images must be an image from the database; submitting any such image brings up other images from the database as results.
Conceptually similar to Google AdWords, PIXSTA AdImages generates revenue from the advertisers in the form of click-throughs, which take the visitor directly to the appropriate product page on the retailer site. When on a media brand's website, Click-through
revenue is shared between PIXSTA and the media brand. Equivalent to Google AdSense , Pixsta's 'ImageSense' allows publishers to price contextual pages via image matching technology. Ads displayed are heavily targeted by the understanding of visual attributes. Due to the high contextual attributes profitability rates are rumoured to be higher than Google AdSense.
The company alluded to further online advertising networks in other industries where goods are sold on their visual appearance, including shoes, art, antiques and home furnishings.
The company also claimed that the PIXSTA image search engine is sufficiently accurate and sophisticated to enable its use in facial recognition
applications.
In April '09 PIXSTA launched Empora.com a fashion discovery website with style and colour search, in which they realized pixta's unique technologies.
Alexander Straub
Alexander Straub is an Internet and Telecom entrepreneur and investor.-Biography:Alexander Straub is a German born entrepreneur and European venture capitalist at London-based Straub Ventures and Cambridge -based Cambridge Accelerator Partners. He is a native of Darmstadt, Germany. Alexander...
, Dr. Daniel Heesch and David Williams.
Background
The company has applied patent-pending scientific research into image searchImage search
Image meta search is a type of search engine specialised on finding pictures, images, animations etc. Like the text search, image search is an information retrieval system designed to help to find information on the Internet and it allows the user to look for images etc...
and retrieval in a fundamentally different way to other exponents of web search technology, allowing users to browse and search for relevant items using images rather than keywords. In essence, PIXSTA enables an image to be submitted as a search term, generating results in the form of a set of visually similar images. Lately PIXSTA got transformed into Empora Ltd which is enhancing the technology and adding a social layer on top of the visual search technology.
Technology
The PIXSTA image search engine is the result of several years of academic research by Dr Daniel Heesch, a graduate of St John’s College Oxford and Imperial College LondonImperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...
, UK.
The search engine
Search engine
A search engine is an information retrieval system designed to help find information stored on a computer system. The search results are usually presented in a list and are commonly called hits. Search engines help to minimize the time required to find information and the amount of information...
does not rely on tags that may, or may not have been, added to images; instead, it analyses images down to the pixel
Pixel
In digital imaging, a pixel, or pel, is a single point in a raster image, or the smallest addressable screen element in a display device; it is the smallest unit of picture that can be represented or controlled....
level, to identify visual attributes like shape, texture, colour and the kind of objects they contain. PIXSTA’s technology compares images directly at this visual level rather than at the textual level, making tag
Tag (metadata)
In online computer systems terminology, a tag is a non-hierarchical keyword or term assigned to a piece of information . This kind of metadata helps describe an item and allows it to be found again by browsing or searching...
s unnecessary.
Implementation
Like other search companies such as GoogleGoogle
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
and Yahoo, the challenge facing PIXSTA is the profiting from its technology. Its first attempt at making a profit is in the form of an online advertising network
Advertising network
An online advertising network or ad network is a company that connects advertisers to web sites that want to host advertisements. The key function of an ad network is aggregation of ad space supply from publishers and matching it with advertiser demand...
for fashion retail. In this network is predominantly PIXSTA's own websites - however a number of fashion media brands seem to have piloted or are piloting PIXSTA's solution in the shopping sections of their websites. The database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
of images comprises the online collections of multiple fashion retailers – effectively, advertisers. The system is presently a ‘closed’ system, in that search term images must be an image from the database; submitting any such image brings up other images from the database as results.
Conceptually similar to Google AdWords, PIXSTA AdImages generates revenue from the advertisers in the form of click-throughs, which take the visitor directly to the appropriate product page on the retailer site. When on a media brand's website, Click-through
Click-through rate
Clickthrough rate is a way of measuring the success of an online advertising campaign. The clickthrough rate of an advertisement is defined as the number of clicks on an ad divided by the number of times the ad is shown , expressed as a percentage. For example, if a banner ad is delivered 100...
revenue is shared between PIXSTA and the media brand. Equivalent to Google AdSense , Pixsta's 'ImageSense' allows publishers to price contextual pages via image matching technology. Ads displayed are heavily targeted by the understanding of visual attributes. Due to the high contextual attributes profitability rates are rumoured to be higher than Google AdSense.
Milestones
PIXSTA evidently revealed early deployments in November 2006, but didn’t make any further formal statements until May 2008. At this time it announced several live pilot deployments, and claimed more to come.The company alluded to further online advertising networks in other industries where goods are sold on their visual appearance, including shoes, art, antiques and home furnishings.
The company also claimed that the PIXSTA image search engine is sufficiently accurate and sophisticated to enable its use in facial recognition
Facial recognition system
A facial recognition system is a computer application for automatically identifying or verifying a person from a digital image or a video frame from a video source...
applications.
In April '09 PIXSTA launched Empora.com a fashion discovery website with style and colour search, in which they realized pixta's unique technologies.
External links
- Image Search for the World Wide Web (2009) Invited Lecture (IET London, 20th Jan)
- Empora.com UK clothing & accessories web site
- Empora.de German clothing & accessories web sit