System and method for handwriting matching using edit distance computation in a systolic array processor

摘要

Apparatus and a method for comparing an electronic handwritten pattern to a stored string are provided. The string includes a group of portions, each having at least one stroke. Movement of a stylus forms the pattern, and a sequence of strokes is generated. Each stroke represents a stylus movement within a predetermined alphabet. The sequence of strokes has a plurality of portions. A linear systolic array processor determines an edit distance between the string and the pattern. The processor compares a first portion of the string to a first portion of the pattern. A plurality of edit distance components are generated based on the comparison. Each component corresponds to a different set of operations that transforms the first portion of the stored string into the first portion of the pattern. The components are calculated based on a further comparison between additional portions of the stored string and the pattern. The component which has a minimum value is selected. The comparison is performed between each respective portion of the pattern and the corresponding portion of the stored string. The total edit distance is based on the component selected during a last comparison between a last portion of the stored string and a last portion of the pattern.