CBIR(Content-based image retrieval) is an image retrieval method that exploits the feature vector of the image as the retrieval index

which is based upon the content

including colors

textures

shapes and distributions of objects in the image etc. The implementation of the image feature vector and the searching process take a great influence upon the efficiency and result of the CBIR. In the paper

a prospective retrieval method based upon the CBIR and the IGA (Interactive Genetic Algorithm) are proposed. Firstly

each image in the collection is segmented into a constant number of sub-images

and the content in each sub-image is computed to make up the feature vector of the image. Then the feature vector of every image is reshuffled in a helix way

to produce the image chromosome

which is used in the following genetic operations. The image chromosome not only characterizes the image

but makes a difference among different parts in the image. During the image retrieval process

the user can employs the IGA to find the image he/she needss for by means of the interaction with the system. In order to promote the efficiency of the IGA

'Non-uniform Inheriting Operator' is adopted in the genetic operations. Finally

experiments are made and the simplicity and efficiency of the method are discussed.