# Ordinal Distance Metric Learning with MDS for Image Ranking

## TL;DR

This paper introduces an improved linear ordinal distance metric learning method using multidimensional scaling for image ranking, enhancing speed and accuracy over previous models.

## Contribution

It proposes a novel approach combining linear metric learning with MDS and least squares fitting, maintaining data structure and improving ranking performance.

## Key findings

- Better speed compared to previous models
- Enhanced ranking accuracy
- Maintains local data structures

## Abstract

Image ranking is to rank images based on some known ranked images. In this paper, we propose an improved linear ordinal distance metric learning approach based on the linear distance metric learning model. By decomposing the distance metric $A$ as $L^TL$, the problem can be cast as looking for a linear map between two sets of points in different spaces, meanwhile maintaining some data structures. The ordinal relation of the labels can be maintained via classical multidimensional scaling, a popular tool for dimension reduction in statistics. A least squares fitting term is then introduced to the cost function, which can also maintain the local data structure. The resulting model is an unconstrained problem, and can better fit the data structure. Extensive numerical results demonstrate the improvement of the new approach over the linear distance metric learning model both in speed and ranking performance.