Printed Arabic script recognition: A survey

Abstract

Optical character recognition (OCR) is essential in various real-world applications, such as digitizing learning resources to assist visually impaired people and transforming printed resources into electronic media. However, the development of OCR for printed Arabic script is a challenging task. These challenges are due to the specific characteristics of Arabic script. Therefore, different methods have been proposed for developing Arabic OCR systems, and this paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of these methods. This paper also discusses relevant issues of printed Arabic OCR including the challenges of printed Arabic script and performance evaluation. It concludes with a discussion of the current status of printed Arabic OCR, analyzing the remaining problems in the field of printed Arabic OCR and providing several directions for future research.