Baseline structure analysis of handwritten mathematics notation

Abstract

The structure of mathematics notation is particularly difficult to recognize in handwritten notation because irregular symbol placements are common. We present an efficient and robust method of parsing handwritten and typeset mathematics notation without backtracking. The system is designed to be easily adaptable to various dialects of mathematics notation. The following strategies are used: (1) separate the analysis of layout, syntax, and semantics, (2) recursively apply search functions and image partitioning to recognize dominant and nested baselines, and (3) use tree transformations to express computations in a compact, efficiently executable form.