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Comparison of outline-based shape descriptors for alphanumeric characters by using piecewise linear functions: the case of vehicle license plates typeface

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Abstract

The selection of a suitable shape representation model is an essential component to consider in order to achieve satisfactory results in shape recognition. However, this selection is highly dependent on the specific case of study. In this paper, a comparison of outline-based shape descriptors for the alphanumeric character typeface used on vehicle license plates is reported. The shape of each character is described by the polygonal curve that connects the set of points uniformly distributed around its image outline. Formally, two descriptors are analyzed: mesh distance and circle mesh distance. However, considering that, from a practical point of view, rotation of characters can be discarded due to the standard vertical alignment of characters in vehicle plates, parametric functions of coordinates (x and y) are also considered in this study. To exploit and collect all the geometric information provided by the outline points, piecewise linear functions are used. The main contribution of this work is precisely to determine, among the set of shape descriptors considered in the present study, the best choice to identify shape similarity (with the aid of piecewise linear functions) in alphanumeric characters with the typography style used in vehicle license plates. Experimental results reveal that for this case of study, the best shape signature is the circle mesh distance, and the most descriptive information about shape can be found in the parametric function of x.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Ing. Elias Martinez Melchor for his technical collaboration with MATLAB codification.

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No funding was received for this research.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Faculty of Electronics Instrumentation, University of Veracruz, Circuito Gonzalo Aguirre Beltrán S/N, Zona Universitaria, Xalapa, 91000, Veracruz, México

      Victor Manuel Jimenez-Fernandez, Hector Vazquez-Leal & Uriel Antonio Filobello-Nino

    2. Faculty of Statistics and Informatics, University of Veracruz, Av. Xalapa S/N, Col. Obrero Campesina, Xalapa, 91020, Veracruz, México

      Victor Manuel Tlapa-Carrera

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    1. Victor Manuel Jimenez-Fernandez
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    Contributions

    VMJF wrote the original draft and supervised the entire process of the research, VMTC programmed and adapted the program code for image processing, HVL participated in numerical simulations, and AUFN participated in collecting and interpreting the data. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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    Correspondence to Victor Manuel Jimenez-Fernandez.

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    Victor Manuel Tlapa-Carrera, Hector Vazquez-Leal and Uriel Antonio Filobello-Nino are contributed equally to this work.

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    Jimenez-Fernandez, V.M., Tlapa-Carrera, V.M., Vazquez-Leal, H. et al. Comparison of outline-based shape descriptors for alphanumeric characters by using piecewise linear functions: the case of vehicle license plates typeface. Multimed Tools Appl 82, 31641–31658 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-023-14976-z

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-023-14976-z

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