A criterion based on Fourier transform for segmentation of connected digits

Abstract. Segmentation is the most difficult problem in handwritten character recognition systems and often causes major errors in performance. To reach a balance between speed and accuracy, a filter distinguishing connected images from isolated images for multiple stage segmentation is required. The Fourier spectrum is a promising approach to this problem, although it suffers from the heavy influence of stroke width. Therefore, we introduce SFS (SFS) to eliminate the stroke-width effect. Based on the SFS, a set of features and a fine-tuned criterion are presented to classify connected/isolated images. Theoretical analysis demonstrates their soundness, while experimental results demonstrate that this criterion is better than other methods. Received February 18, 2000 / Revised June 3, 2000