A method for extracting text from stone inscriptions using character spotting

Abstract

A novel interactive technique for extraction of text characters from the images of stone inscriptions is introduced in this paper. It is designed particularly for on-site processing of inscription images acquired at various historic palaces, monuments, and temples. Its underlying principle is made of several robust character-analytic elements like HoG features, vowel diacritics, and location-bounded scan lines. Since the process involves character spotting and extraction of the inscribed information to editable text, it would subsequently help the archaeologists for epigraphy, transliteration, and translation of rock inscriptions, particularly for the ones having high degradations, noise, and a variety of styles according to the mason origin and reign. The spotted characters can also be used to create a database for ancient script analysis and related archaeological work. We have tested our method on various stone inscriptions collected from some of the heritage sites of Karnataka, India, and the results are quite promising. An Android application of the proposed work is also developed to aid the epigraphers in the study of inscriptions using a tablet or a mobile phone.