ROGUE: A System for Exploratory Search of GANs

Image retrieval from generative adversarial networks (GANs) is challenging for several reasons. First, there are no clear mappings between the GAN's latent space and useful semantic features, making it difficult for users to navigate. Second, the number of unique images that can be generated is exceptionally high, taxing the scaling properties of existing search algorithms. In this article, we present ROGUE, a system to support exploratory search of images generated from GANs. We demonstrate how to implement features that are commonly found in exploratory search interfaces, such as faceted search and relevance feedback, in the context of GAN search. We additionally use reinforcement learning to help users navigate the image space [8], trading off exploration (showing diverse images) and exploitation (showing images predicted to receive positive relevance feedback). Finally, we present a usability study where participants were situated in the role of a casting director who needs to explore actors' headshots for an upcoming movie. The system obtained an average SUS score of 72.8 and all participants reported being either satisfied or very satisfied with the images they identified with the system. The system is shown in this accompanying video: https://vimeo.com/680036160.