A content-based image retrieval system retrieves an image based on an angular radial transform (ART) image descriptor. In the content-based image retrieval system, a method for retrieving an image includes the steps of: a) receiving a query image; b) extracting a query image descriptor from the query image based on at least an angular component and a radial component of the query image; c) comparing the query image descriptor with an image descriptor stored on the database; and d) determining a degree of a similarity between the query image descriptor and the image descriptor stored on the database.
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