Intelligent Character Recognition - Neural Networks That Read Handwriting.

Optical character recognition (OCR) is a process by which a computer can convert the text of a typewritten or printed document into a file stored on the computer. A piece of equipment called a scanner creates an image of the document, and OCR software running on the computer identifies the characters of the text. The result, if all works well, is a digital file in the computer containing the same text. This allows a person to send, edit, or store the text electronically, without having to use the keyboard to enter the text.

The problems are compounded when the text is not printed but handwritten. Some people have better penmanship than others, but the characters of even the most careful writers display a certain amount of variation. Unless the characters are exactly the same, the performance of OCR programs drops considerably.

Neural networks offer a solution to this problem. Because neural networks do not need the full pattern to recognize an input, these devices can arrive at the correct result despite variations. Techniques such as Hebbian learning, back propagation, and others train networks to recognize a standard form for each letter, perhaps with minor variations. Even though the handwritten letter a does not always appear the same, nor does it always match a printed a, the trained neural network will often output the correct letter. Whereas a conventional computer program requires perfection, neural networks, like brains, make allowances for variety. Computer systems that read handwriting usually rely on neural networks, and are known as intelligent character recognition (ICR), as these systems exhibit a certain degree of "intelligence."

ICR makes life easier for a lot of people who would otherwise have to pore over handwritten documents. For example, Parascript, a company located in Boulder, Colorado, and Lockheed Martin, a company with headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland, developed a system used by the U.S. Postal Service to help process and route letters, even those with handwritten addresses.

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