A Geometric-based Sketch Recognition Approach for Handwritten Mandarin Phonetic Symbols I

Inputting written Chinese, unlike written English, is a non-trivial operation using a standard keyboard. To accommodate this operation, numerous existing phonetic systems using the Roman alphabet were adopted as a means of input while still making use of a Western keyboard. With the growing prevalence of computing devices capable of pen-based input, naturally sketching written Chinese using a phonetic system becomes possible, and is also generally faster and simpler than sketching entire Chinese characters. One method for sketching Chinese characters for computing devices capable of pen-based input involves using an existing non-alphabetic phonetic system called the Mandarin Phonetic Symbols I (MPS1). The benefits of inputting Chinese characters by its corresponding MPS1 symbols – unlike letters from its alphabetic-based counterpart – is that it retains the phonemic components of the corresponding Chinese characters. The work in the paper describes our geometric-based MPS1 recognition system, a system designed particularly for novice users of MPS1 symbols that gives reasonable vision-based recognition rates and provides useful feedback for symbols drawn with incorrect sketching technique such as stroke order.