7 Similarity Based Image Search Engines

I’ve been briefly over overviewing advanced image search tools previously. Today I focus on image search based on similarity. Visual similarity search stands for image search based on one (or several) of the following criteria:

• color;
• theme;
• texture.

1. Tiltomo is a Flickr based tool that maintains its own database of Flickr images and allows to search images based on similar theme :

or similar color palette and texture:

2. Tineye.com (by Ideeinc.com) is a new online service allowing for reversed image search: unlike all existing image search engines it searches based not on keywords you submit but on images you upload. Its database is not that huge so far but it is growing fast.

The tool requires registration and searches for exact copy of the image provided:

3. Byo image search (also maintained by Ideeinc.com) searches for similar images to the one you upload from your computer. The tool seems to be based on color search primarily but does include theme based algorithm:

4. Live.com allows to perform similarity search after the keyword search (you can choose to search for similar images of any individual image). The search seems not very accurate though but is something to try out nevertheless:

5. Xcavator is a similarity based search engine for stock photography. The service is built and maintained by CogniSign and works similarly to Live.com (you first search by a keyword and than refine results by choosing one image and searching for its similar equivalents):

6. Incogna works really fast and seems to be based on both color and shape similarity.

7. Terragalleria uses visual similarity (regardless of the image content):