Research on recognition algorithm of free handwritten numerals based on combined structural features

Because of its large differences in writing style, context-independency and high recognition accuracy requirement, free handwritten digital identification is still a very difficult problem. Analyzing the characteristic of handwritten digits, this paper proposes a new handwritten digital identification method based on combining structural features. Given a handwritten digit, a variety of structural features of the digit including end points, bifurcation points, horizontal lines and so on are identified automatically and robustly by a proposed extended structural features identification algorithm and a decision tree based on those structural features are constructed to support automatic recognition of the handwritten digit. Experimental result demonstrates that the proposed method is superior to other general methods in recognition rate and robustness.