A graph algorithmic framework for the assembly of shredded documents

In this paper we propose a framework to address the reassembly of shredded documents. Inspired by the way humans approach this problem we introduce a novel algorithm that iteratively determines groups of fragments that fit together well. We identify such groups by evaluating a set of constraints that takes into account shape- and content-based information of each fragment. Accordingly, we choose the best matching groups of fragments during each iteration and implicitly determine a maximum spanning tree of a graph that represents alignments between the individual fragments. After each iteration we update the graph with respect to additional contextual knowledge. We evaluate the effectiveness of our approach on a dataset of 16 fragmented pages with strongly varying content. The robustness of the proposed algorithm is finally shown in situations in which material is lost.