New NIST OCR Database

[Mike Garris x2928]

           NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY

                      Announces a New Database

                  +-----------------------------+
                  |  "NIST Special Database 3"  |
                  +-----------------------------+

          Binary Images of Handwritten Segmented Characters
                              (HWSC)


The NIST database of handwritten segmented characters contains 313,389
isolated character images segmented from the 2,100 full-page images
distributed with "NIST Special Database 1". The database includes the
2,100 pages of binary, black and white, images of hand-printed numerals
and text. This significant new database contains 223,125 digits, 44,951
upper-case, and 45,313 lower-case character images. Each character image
has been centered in a separate 128 by 128 pixel region and has been
assigned a classification which has been manually corrected so that the
error rate of the segmentation and assigned classification is less than
0.1%. The uncompressed database totals approximately 2.75 gigabytes of
image data and includes image format documentation and example software.

"NIST Special Database 3" has the following features:
     + 313,389 isolated character images including classifications
     + 223,125 digits, 44,951 upper-case, and 45,313 lower-case images
     + 2,100 full-page images
     + 12 pixel per millimeter resolution
     + image format documentation and example software

Suitable for automated hand-print recognition research, the database
can be used for:
     + algorithm development
     + system training and testing

The database is a valuable tool for training recognition systems on a
large statistical sample of hand-printed characters. The system
requirements are a 5.25" CD-ROM drive with software to read ISO-9660
format.

If you have any further technical questions please contact:

                         Michael D. Garris
                       mdg at magi.ncsl.nist.gov
                           (301)975-2928 (new number!)

If you wish to order the database, please contact:

                      Standard Reference Data
         National Institute of Standards and Technology
                             221/A323
                      Gaithersburg, MD 20899
                          (301)975-2208
                       (301)926-0416 (FAX)