Fundamentals in Handwriting Recognition

This book focuses on the fundamental tools and ideas that are generally usedin the handwriting recognition field. Though one of the oldest fields of computer pattern recognition, this topic is now attracting growing numbers of researchers in universities and development engineers in industry. The volume is based on a NATO Advanced Study Institute that took place in France in 1993. The most important algorithms for data acquisition, preprocessing, feature extraction, and classification, andthe commonest database and devices for on-line and off-line recognition are presented. The role of parallel machines and special networks in solving problems in the field are also discussed.

For many years researchers in the field of Handwriting Recognition were considered to be working in an area of minor importance in Pattern Recog- nition. They had only the possibility to present the results of their research at general conferences such as the ICPR or publish their papers in journals such as some of the IEEE series or PR, together with many other papers generally oriented to the more promising areas of Pattern Recognition. The series of International Workshops on Frontiers in Handwriting Recog- nition and International Conferences on Document Analysis and Recognition together with some special issues of several journals are now fulfilling the expectations of many researchers who have been attracted to this area and are involving many academic institutions and industrial companies. But in order to facilitate the introduction of young researchers into the field and give them both theoretically and practically powerful tools, it is now time that some high level teaching schools in handwriting recognition be held, also in order to unite the foundations of the field. Therefore it was my pleasure to organize the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Fundamentals in Handwriting Recognition that had its origin in many exchanges among the most important specialists in the field, during the International Workshops on Frontiers in Handwriting Recognition.

This NATO ASI volume focuses on the fundamental tools and ideas that are generally used in the computer recognition of handwriting. The most important algorithms and the commonest databases and devices are presented.