Efficient Dynamic Indexing for Range Filtered Approximate Nearest Neighbor Search

Fangyuan Zhang, Mengxu Jiang, Guanhao Hou, Jieming Shi, Hua Fan, Wenchao Zhou, Feifei Li, Sibo Wang

Abstract: Given a set O of objects consisting of n high-dimensional vectors, the problem of approximate nearest neighbor (ANN) search for a query vector q is crucial in many applications where objects are represented as feature vectors in high-dimensional spaces. Each object in O often has attributes like popularity or price, which influence the search. Practically, searching for the nearest neighbor to q might include a range filter specifying the desired attribute values, e.g., within a specific price range. Existing solutions for range filtered ANN search often face trade-offs among excessive storage, poor query performance, and limited support for updates. To address this challenge, we propose RangePQ, a novel indexing scheme that supports efficient range filtered ANN searches and updates, requiring only linear space. Our scheme integrates seamlessly with existing PQ-based index---a widely recognized, scalable index type for ANN searches---to enhance range-filtered ANN queries and update capabilities. Our indexing method, supporting arbitrary range filters, has a space complexity of (O(n log K)), where K is a parameter of the PQ-based index and log K scales with O(log n). To reduce the space cost, we further present a hybrid two-layer structure to reduce space usage to O(n), preserving query efficiency without additional update costs. Experimental results demonstrate that our indexing scheme significantly improves query performance while maintaining competitive update performance and space efficiency.