Semantic ontologies for multimedia indexing (SOMI): Application in the e-library domain

The overwhelming speed and scale of digital media production greatly outpace conventional indexing methods by humans. The management of Big Data for e-library speech resources requires an automated metadata solution. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

A conceptual model called semantic ontologies for multimedia indexing (SOMI) allows for assembly of the speech objects, encapsulation of semantic associations between phonic units and the definition of indexing techniques designed to invoke and maximize the semantic ontologies for indexing. A literature review and architectural overview are followed by evaluation techniques and a conclusion.

This approach is only possible because of recent innovations in automated speech recognition. The introduction of semantic keyword spotting allows for indexing models that disambiguate and prioritize meaning using probability algorithms within a word confusion network. By the use of AI error-training procedures, optimization is sought for each index item.

Validation and implementation of this approach within the field of digital libraries still remain under development, but rapid developments in technology and research show rich conceptual promise for automated speech indexing.

The SOMI process has been preliminarily tested, showing that hybrid semantic-ontological approaches produce better accuracy than semantic automation alone.

Even as testing proceeds on recorded conference talks at the University of Tebessa (Algeria), other digital archives can look toward similar indexing. This will mean greater access to sound file metadata.

Huge masses of spoken data, unmanageable for a human indexer, can prospectively find semantically sorted and prioritized indexing – not transcription, but generated metadata – automatically, quickly and accurately.