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Handwriting recognition software

Paper Type: Free Essay Subject: Information Technology
Wordcount: 1786 words Published: 18th May 2017

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Handwriting recognition is said to be growing rapidly in the current globalization. Handwriting recognition is something that is able to describe the ability of computer to translate the human writing to text writing. Handwriting recognition is a method where a computer system can recognize characters. It also can recognize other symbols written by hand which is natural handwriting. This handwriting recognition is a technology that is used to identify certain things and also it is used on devices. For an example, it is used in PDA and tablet PCs. In this device, a stylus is used to handwrite on the screen of the PDA with the stylus and then the computer turns the handwriting into a digital text.

Handwriting recognition is a technology that has been in this technology world since the 1980’s but only now it has been used rapidly. Handwriting technology’s aim is to mainly let people to write what they normally write and it eventually digitize the writing that they made. There are many ways that this handwriting recognition works. Handwriting recognition is an electronic device that is able to determine what is person is writing. This process is done by turning the words into conventional type on a computer and other than that, it also can be done by reflecting the person’s handwriting on the computer. There are certain devices that predict what the person wants to write.

Handwriting recognition plays a big role in the technology world now. It also plays an important role in the storage and in the recovery of critical handwriting information. This handwriting recognition ensures an accurate medical care and it also reduces storage costs. It ensures that an essential field of research remains available to students in the future. In this era of globalization, technologies continue to improve and improve more in no time.

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NestorWriter was the first handwriting recognition device found. The one who started the NestorWriter is Dr. Charles Elbaum and he is the one who also developed the NestorWriter. This all happen at the beginning, when many other companies tried to develop these devices and machines all through the years of 1990’s. But most of the companies failed, but the devices didn’t improve that much as they wanted.

There are two types of handwriting recognition techniques; Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and Online Recognition.

Optical Character Recognition

Optical Character Recognition is the first handwriting recognition techniques. Optical Character Recognition is the most successful handwriting recognition in the mainstream. Most of the scanning suits offer some form of the Optical Character Recognition. This form allows the users to scan the handwritten documents to be scan and it translates the words into basic text documents in the computer. That is how simple and easy it is. Optical Character Recognition is also used by some archivists. They use it as a way of converting large quantities of handwritten historical documents into an easy searchable text documents. The Optical Character Recognition changes the documents into a digital form which can be read and kept safe. This handwriting recognition system is so useful.

Online Recognition

This is the second type of the handwriting recognition, Online Recognition. This Online Recognition experienced a flow in popularity. Apple Computers released a handheld device called the Newton in the 1990s. This Newton device was made use of the first widely available handwriting recognition interface. A small stylus was used to write on the Newton’s screen and this Newton device will recognize the letters that are written and convert as a text document. This made the Newton device to have more popularity than expected.

Later as years pass by, the Palm Company tried a new handwriting recognition system. The Palm Company named the system Graffiti. The Graffiti system didn’t only rely on the tradition Roman alphabet but the Graffiti system defined more on its own system by using much simpler line-strokes as a stand-in for each and every letter. This was an advantage for the Graffiti system as it allowed a higher success rate in identifying letters and also in learning a user’s variations. At the same time it made a steep for learning curve which kept most mainstream users at bay.

Other than that, the Microsoft Corporation’s Tablet PCs also make use of the handwriting recognition system. The Tablet PCs didn’t take an attempt to learn the user’s shading whereas the Tablet PCs draw an extensive database of character variation. This system appeared to have a higher success rate than the other adaptive system because of its extensive database of character variation. Handwriting Recognition software became more useful because of the mainstreaming of PDAs and cellular phones with the stylus inputs. This made the handwriting recognition system to be more useful and grow rapidly from time to time.

Handwriting Recognition has many advantages that made it grow rapidly in the technology word now. There is much different kind of technologies that abide to enable others to take advantage of the handwriting recognition. The way this work was when people write letters a different way and they let the computer know what the intended letter was and change in to a text document. But the problem with this was the different way that the letters are written and this could make unnatural feel to the person who is writing it. Another way of appreciating this technology is that just write and the computer changes it to a text document but at the same time, the computer doesn’t always get the right word and sometimes it insert the wrong letters.

Certain cell phones have the handwriting recognition system in it. The advantage of this is that it allows people to write on the cell phones using stylus and then the phone software translates the written words to the phone in text. But at the same time, the problem or called as disadvantage of this again is the same problem that the original software face, which is the unnatural letters strokes and sometimes the software predict the letters wrongly. This is one of the reasons that not all phones have this software in it.

Additionally, there are many more advantages of handwriting recognition system. Data storage, for an example, there are many files, contracts and some personal records that contains some handwritten information and notes. Certain of these documents contains original signature or notes that might not be electronically stored but this problems are overcome with the use of handwriting recognition system. Handwriting recognition software allows user to translate all those signature and notes into electronic words in a text document format. The advantage of this electronic storage is that this data only requires far less physical space than the storage of the physical copies. Another advantage of the electronic storage is also that it requires fewer employees to sort the documents through, organize and to keep the data storage warehouse.

Other than that, data retrieval is another advantage of handwriting recognition. Physical data retrieval always requires personnel to sort through physical copies of old information. The data must always have been stored and correctly organized and also it must have proper maintenance and upkeep on the physical copies. To retain this information or data, we perform electronic data retrieval by using a file search by using specific keywords, for example, like the names and the dates of the file or document. Handwriting recognition software allows the old files to be saved in a proper electronic format. This is how handwriting recognition software helps in saving the old files or important document. For an example, some clinics prefer keeping their patient’s medical records and handwriting recognition helps in this situation by keeping these medical records safe in the computer. This data or files can be reviewed and updated time to time when needed without worrying if the date will be lost.

Moreover, another advantage of handwriting recognition is historical preservation. Historical papers mostly exists has physical format. Examples of historical papers are genealogical information, written manuscripts, old family records, and some personal diaries and sometimes even shared old past stories. But still sometimes, these historical papers might be damaged or corrupted due to some accidents and there is when handwriting recognition software is really very helpful. Handwriting recognition helps to transform the writings in the papers to a text document format which can also be said as readable electronic format. By this way, historical facts can be stored, reviewed and shared easily too many people.

Lastly, the advantage is textual studies. A textual study is a category of literature studies. Literature studies involve reviewing the original manuscripts of literature in comparison with the printed version. This means that the story has been dug and changed at the hands of the editor’s hand after coming from the hands of the author. This is why original manuscripts are cared very well but still this requires a complete review of the manuscript. Handwriting recognition helps to keep safe these original manuscripts in an electronic format and it can be reviewed without damaging the original copy of the manuscripts.

The disadvantage of handwriting recognition technologies is that not everyone’s handwriting is the same, everyone writes differently. This starts the problem in the handwriting recognition technology when it need to translate a person’s handwriting into type and because of this problem many companies failed to perform well because many couldn’t effectively use the program well enough.

In a nutshell, handwriting recognition is very useful software that really helps to safe and keeps data and documents well. But at time it also has its disadvantage such as that sometimes if fails to read certain people’s handwriting and due to this many people do not prefer to use the handwriting recognition software that much. Even though handwriting recognition has its disadvantages but still it is growing rapidly in the technology world. Handwriting recognition is used when there are certain people who prefer writing on the screens rather than writing it on a paper. As far as seen, handwriting recognition will still grow fast in the technology world if it is upgraded more well.

 

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