[comp.graphics] Request for references on Chinese character OCR products

alexh@rtech.rtech.com (Alex Hwang) (07/24/89)

I am looking for information on COMMERCIAL printed Chinese character OCR
product. Preferred hardware platform is IBM PC compatible. Feedbacks so
far have been mostly negative.

It is apparently difficult to develop. I am curious about the
technical reasons for this. (I am almost a zero in character
recognition topic. I would appreciate any references of articles on
this topic.) The following is a short summary on the
characteristics of Chinese characters:

	1. A page of  Chinese characters are printed in a 2 dimensional 
	   array of equal size  rectangles. 1 character occupies 1
	   rectangle. (No proportional spacing concept.)
	2. There are more than 10,000 distinct Chinese characters.
	3. The average number of strokes of Chinese characters is more
	   than 10.
	4. Assume 1 font only.
	5. There are no equivalent of Chinese spelling checker. Therefore, 
	   accuracy is very important. Chinese proofing and editing is very
	   painful for non-experts.

Does the fact that the Chinese characters have more strokes then English
alphabets improve the accuracy potential in Chinese character recognition?

Again, any info or comment is greatly appreciated.

Alex Hwang