Patent ID: 8463036

Claim:
A computer-implemented method comprising: under the control of one or more computer systems configured with executable instructions, defining a plurality of refinement shapes; associating ones of a plurality of training images of training items to at least one of the refinement shapes based at least in part on similarities between the refinement shapes and shapes of the training items; calculating a first plurality of local histogram descriptors of the training images; receiving images of a plurality of inventory items; calculating a second plurality of local histogram descriptors of the images of the inventory items; associating the images of the inventory items to the refinement shapes based at least in part on similarities between the second plurality of local histogram descriptors of the images of the inventory items and the first plurality of local histogram descriptors of the training images that are associated with the refinement shapes; and responsive to receiving information for a search request specifying at least one of the refinement shapes, providing search results including at least a reference to at least one of the images of the inventory items associated with the specified at least one of the refinement shapes.