Electrical and Computer Engineering Commons^™

Estimating Degradation Model Parameters From Character Images, Hok S. Yam, Elisa H. Barney Smith

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper discusses the use of character images to determine the parameters of an image degradation model. The acute angles in character images provide information used to find the model parameters. Three experiments are conducted to evaluate the use of characters. In the first experiment, large quantities of corners from character images are used to investigate how their contribution affects the mean and the standard deviation of the parameter estimators. In the second experiment, we focus on the relationship between the angles of the corners used in estimation and the estimation results. In the last experiment, we examine how likely …

Speedup Of Optical Scanner Characterization Subsystem, Roger D. Clements, Elisa H. Barney Smith

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Small image deformations such as those introduced by optical scanners significantly reduce the accuracy rate of optical character recognition (OCR) software. Characterization of the scanner used in the OCR process may diminish the impact on recognition rates. Theoretical methods have been developed to characterize a scanner based on the bi-level image resulting from scanning a high contrast document. Two bottlenecks in the naïve implementation of these algorithms have been identified, and techniques were developed to improve the execution time of the software. The algorithms are described and analyzed. Since approximations are used in one of the techniques, the error of …

Uniqueness Of Bilevel Image Degradations, Elisa H. Barney Smith

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Two major degradations, edge displacement and corner erosion, change the appearance of bilevel images. The displacement of an edge determines stroke width, and the erosion ofa corner affects crispness. These degradations are functions of the system parameters: the point spread function (PSF) width and functional form, and the binarization threshold. Changing each of these parameters will affect an image differently. A given amount of edge displacement or amount of erosion of black or white corners can be caused by several combinations of the PSF width and the binarization threshold. Any pair of these degradations are unique to a single PSF …

Estimating Scanning Characteristics From Corners In Bilevel Images, Elisa H. Barney Smith

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Degradations that occur during scanning can cause errors in Optical Character Recognition (OCR). Scans made in bilevel mode (no grey scale) from high contrast source patterns are the input to the estimation processes. Two scanner system parameters are estimated from bilevel scans using models of the scanning process and bilevel source patterns. The scanner's point spread function (PSF) width and the binarization threshold are estimated by using corner features in the scanned images.

These estimation algorithms were tested in simulation and with scanned test patterns. The resulting estimates are close in value to what is expected based on grey-level analysis. …

Scanner Parameter Estimation Using Bilevel Scans Of Star Charts, Elisa H. Barney Smith

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Scanning a high contrast image in bilevel mode results in image degradation. This is caused by two primary effects: blurring and thresholding. This paper expands on a method of estimating a joint distortion parameter, called the edge spread, from a star sector test chart in order to calculate the values of the point spread function width and binarization threshold. This theory is also described for variations in the source pattern which can represent degradations caused by repetition of the bilevel process as would be seen in printing then scanning, or in repeated photocopying. Estimation results are shown for the basic …

Rules For A Cellular Automaton To Model Quantum-Dot Cellular Automata, Teresa Cole, John C. Lusth

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Quantum-dot cellular automata are one of several new device architectures whose operation is based on local interactions, much like cellular automata. We have implemented several rule sets for a cellular automaton that could be used to model the behavior of quantum-dot cellular automata and used them to test most of the wire and gate configurations proposed for these devices. Arrangements of cells for which any particular cell has neighbors which are not adjacent to each other generally behave as expected. Unfavorable arrangements of cells such as those with bends and crosses tend to either have incorrect outputs or be unstable …