On Segmentation of Documents in Complex Scripts

Document image segmentation algorithms primarily aim at separating text and graphics in presence of complex layouts. However, for many non-Latin scripts, segmentation becomes a challenge due to the characteristics of the script. In this paper, we empirically demonstrate that successful algorithms for Latin scripts may not be very effective for Indic and complex scripts. We explain this based on the differences in the spatial distribution of symbols in the scripts. We argue that the visual information used for segmentation needs to be enhanced with other information like script models for accurate results.