retrievr: an interesting progress on image search

retrievr is a new image search service that let users find flickr images by drawing rough sketches of them. It is not searched by keywords or meanings. In contrast, it is searched by visual effects. For example, when I upload my own photo to the site, it returns me a set of black-and-white pictures that has similar visual effect as my picture.



I am not sure how this technique can be used in real-world cases. But it is fun to play with it. If retrievr creates a Web-2.0 community and allow users voting and sharing their results, it may greatly help them improve their technique and bring up more creative ideas on how to use this cool technique on real world applications.

Thanks for JurijMLotman pointing this site and its mother site SystemOne to me. They are doing really cool stuffs. The web indeed becomes more and more interesting.