High-speed thinning processor for character recognition system

A modified thinning algorithm is proposed and its validity demonstrated. Experimental results show that this modified algorithm preserves the connectivity and the end points, which are critical requirements in a character recognition system. A flexible thinning processor has been integrated and interfaced with an IBM PC AT/386 and been tested for variable image widths from 25 to 40 b. For a 38*38 image and 1.5-kb data, completion of thinning requires 2.8 ms. It is shown that processing speed is limited only to the propagation delays of logic gates, since the input image continuously enters the processor without a control signal. Experimental results confirm that this modified algorithm and processor are effective in image processing as well as character and fingerprint recognition.<
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