Free-sketch recognition: putting the chi in sketching

Abstract

Sketch recognition techniques have generally fallen into two camps. Gesture-based techniques, such as those used by the Palm Pilot's Graffiti, can provide high-accuracy, but require the user to learn a particular drawing style in order for shapes to be recognized. Free-sketch recognition allows users to draw shapes as they would naturally, but most current techniques have low accuracies or require significant domain-level tweaking to make them usable. Our goal is to recognize free-hand sketches with high accuracy by developing generalized techniques that work for a variety of domains, including design and education. This is a work-in-progress, but we have made significant advancements toward our over-arching goal.