Open Collections

Abstract

The problem of character recognition is used as a vehicle for an investigation of the properties of a particular descriptor of planar patterns. The descriptor arises in the work of Connor [4] on the activity of photosensitive receptors connected in a lateral inhibitory network. It results from a mapping of the planar pattern into a periodic function of one variable. The function is found to be a general descriptor of pattern contour which denotes extrema in contour curvature and is independent of pattern orientation. Based on conjectures regarding human perception of the elements of a pattern set representing alphabetic characters, a recognition machine based on a sequential decision strategy is developed and implemented. Results of the application of the strategy to a mixed-font environment show the pattern descriptor to be capable of high recognition rates. However, these anticipated results may be obtained only through the modification of the current operating system. A number of such changes are proposed and their probable effects discussed.