Offline Machine-Print Hindi Digit Recognition Using Translational Motion Estimation

In this paper we propose a new method of using motion estimation for the purpose of offline recognition of machine-print Hindi digits. The recognition process can be summarized as follows: an image of each of the ten numerals (numbers 0 to 9) is stored, these are called reference images. The differences between the image of the numeral to be recognized and the reference image are considered motions. The motions are estimated and then compensated. The resultant image after motion compensation is compared to the reference image and the difference between the two (treated as error) is calculated. The process of motion estimation and compensation is done for each of the ten numerals. The numeral with the minimum error is chosen as the recognized digit. While this proposed recognition system is applied to Hindi digits in this paper, it can be generalized to the recognition of any numerals in any language and can be extended to text and voice recognition. The proposed method is simple, fast, accurate, and reliable.