MediaEval 2013: Placing Task
A photo location estimation benchmark of which the results will be presented at the MediaEval 2013 workshop, 18-19 October in Barcelona, Spain (just before ACM Multimedia).
This challenge is one of the subtasks of MediaEval (http://www.multimediaeval.org/mediaeval2013).

OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE
The Placing Task requires participants to estimate the geographical coordinates (latitude and longitude) of photos, as well as to indicate how "placeable" they actually are by estimating the error of the predicted locations. Pinpointing the exact or approximate coordinates of a photo is not merely an intellectual challenge. It has clear utility and potential for far-reaching impact in multimedia and beyond. As an example, rescue teams may be able to narrow down where exactly a family disappeared in a remote area by discovering the locations shown in photos uploaded to a social network before they lost contact. The placing task integrates various aspects of multimedia: textual metadata, image content, location, time, users and context.

The dataset for the placing task contains 7.8 million creative commons-licensed geotagged Flickr photos. The test set is available in various sizes, ranging between 5,000 and 250,000 photos, in order to allow participation in the task even without very powerful resources. We welcome all creative uses of the data sources and encourage you all to take part in the task.

For more details on the task please visit http://www.multimediaeval.org/mediaeval2013/placing2013 and to register for the task please visit http://www.aanmelder.nl/mediaeval2013/. After signing a usage agreement you will be sent details on how to download the dataset.

All participants will have the opportunity to present their approach at MediaEval 2013 and their papers describing the approaches will be published in the MediaEval Working Notes. The MediaEval workshop is an excellent source for finding research inspiration, starting collaborations and setting up further publication options.

TIMELINE
24.05.2013: development and test sets available
25.08.2013: deadline for submission of runs
31.08.2013: submission results released
15.09.2013: deadline for submission of working notes papers
18.10.2013: MediaEval 2013 workshop starts
19.10.2013: MediaEval 2013 workshop ends

ORGANIZERS
Claudia Hauff
Delft University of Technology, Netherlands
c.hauff@tudelft.nl

Bart Thomee
Yahoo! Research, Barcelona, Spain
bthomee@yahoo-inc.com

Michele Trevisiol
Yahoo! Research, Barcelona, Spain
trevi@yahoo-inc.com