METIS: a flexible foundation for the unified management of multimedia assets

Multimedia database systems typically focus on specific kinds of media and/or applications. This article gives an architectural overview of METIS, a database foundation for a unified management of any variety of media that is flexibly customizable to different application needs. METIS is based on an expressive data model that can instantiate any desired scheme for media management, description, and classification. Kernel plug-ins and frameworks enable profound customizations of the system core, such as media- and domain-specific query operators, similarity measures, and feature extraction algorithms. METIS is built on a persistence abstraction layer that facilitates switching of storage back-ends and offers a customizable web front-end for administration and media management. So-called semantic packs permit the bundling of domain-specific customizations. As we illustrate with two application scenarios, METIS thus establishes a common media management foundation for a broad spectrum of multimedia applications.