What features and characteristics make up handwriting?
Writing is something we do countless times a day. The style and execution varies widely which poses a challenge for handwriting recognition, but those same aspects can be used to prove and protect identity.
Handwriting has been a powerful form of knowledge retention for more than five thousand years. It provides an efficient means to record information and connect us to the past and the future. Being a skill we learn at a young age and one that’s deeply unique to each author, it comes as no surprise that the study of a person’s handwriting followed. Handwriting analysis dates to the mid-19th century with mention as early as the 15th century. This early analysis, called graphology, is now considered a pseudoscience that prioritized identifying personality traits from a writer’s style and execution.
Because of the unending variation, handwriting recognition challenges humans and machines alike. Let’s look at handwriting features that can be used to identify the writer. These same characteristics are at the heart of the challenges found with handwriting recognition and cognitive capture.
Cuneiform writing on clay tablets is an example of the oldest known writing. Being on clay, many samples survive today. Examples of receipts, prayers, and even complaints to businesses are part of museum collections.
We can split handwriting features into two categories:
Static and Dynamic Characteristics
What are static characteristics?
Static characteristics can be roughly described as the design of a person’s handwriting. Examples of static characteristics are the shape and size of letters as well as spacing and alignment. They remain a consistent feature of handwriting or signatures and are features consistent enough to be part of forensic document examination. Additionally, they are easier to observe and measure without the assistance of advanced technology.
Chalkboard A-Frame Boards utilize stylish handwriting to advertise wares and business offerings.
What are dynamic characteristics?
Dynamic characteristics are associated with the movement or motion that make up the process handwriting. While less obvious when compared to static characteristics, dynamic characteristics provide another layer of information.
Examples of dynamic characteristics include speed, pen lifts, pressure, and direction. They are more challenging to identify, but they are vital when comparing to other samples.
Calligraphy leans into the motion of writing to create a fluid and beautiful form of handwriting that requires patience and hours of practice to master.
Why does it matter that handwriting varies so much?
Data capture is all about pattern recognition because patterns are a source of information themselves. Spot and validate a pattern and you have a new data point that will support accuracy.
Recognition software that is tasked with capturing data. Printed letters from the same font are a perfect example of true consistency and the easiest for OCR software to read. A sudden font change or size change? New variables, but ones that contain similar patterns.
But handwriting? Those consistencies disappear. By understanding the factors that impact handwriting, developers can design more effective handwriting capture solutions.
And when those solutions are part of identity verification and fraud prevention efforts, accuracy is paramount.
BLOG / July 31, 2020
Art of Handwriting Recognition in Intelligent Document Processing
The Art of Handwriting Recognition in Intelligent Document Processing defines what both handwriting recognition and ICR mean and how to apply them.
Signatures – Unique handwriting that becomes a powerful biometric for identity verification
Why are signatures a reliable and unique form of biometric data? Signatures lean into dynamic handwriting features to such an extent that we trust them for identity verification and even forensic analysis. The speed and repeated nature of a signature lends itself to becoming a type of readable fingerprint.
With that in mind, the accuracy of comparison and validation further exemplifies the necessity for error-free data capture.
BLOG / February 21, 2013
Signature Biometrics and Validation: An Introduction
What is biometrics? A biometric is a substantially stable physical or behavioral characteristic or trait of a person which can be automatically measured and characterized for comparison. In the context of signatures, biometrics are physiological and behavioral characteristics that make a signature unique.
Handwriting changes for many reasons. Some long-term, some short-term, but variables and inconsistencies add a layer of challenge to reading and interpreting hand-written words.
By appreciating and addressing the factors that influence handwriting, developers, and users of OCR, ICR, and even IDP software can ensure more accurate, efficient, and reliable digitization of handwritten documents, ultimately leading to improved workflows and better outcomes across various sectors.
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