Characterization of the cuneiform signs by the use of a multifunctional optoelectronic device

The cruneiform-inscription (CI) signs recorded on the original clay tablet known as HS 158b from Nippur (1329 B.C.) have been characterized by the use of a multifunctional optoelectronic device. Properties such as features in object and Fourier space or similarity measures between the CI sign samples were investigated by the application of various numerical and experimental procedures. An overall algorithm of the experimental work is given, and the corresponding particular steps are described. For describing the objects from the CI font numerically, a mathematical model is introduced. To decrease the sensitivity between different samples of a sign (in-class objects) and to increase the discrimination of other signs (out-of-class objects), we designed and implemented besides digital techniques, a coherent optical technique for averaging a training set of in-class objects. The preliminary correlation experiments conducted on several CI signs illustrate the usefulness of the proposed approach. (C) 1996 Optical Society of America