About InkCapture

InkCapture is a tool designed specifically for handwriting recognition. It will offer not only the extraction of text from a document, but also advanced search in documents, where it will not only search for an exact match, but also similar words. This will allow you to significantly reduce the number of pages that need to be studied when searching for a particular term. In the searched subset of pages, it evaluates the degree of certainty of finding the searched text and thus gives the researcher the most precise and detailed information about where to start studying, and where the greatest probability of success lies. It also allows you to search by image, which searches the document for text that is visually similar to the specified image. The key innovation of InkCapture is its continuous learning and improvement of skills based on feedback from text recognition and search.

InkCapture system features

  • Automatic detection and marking of areas within handwritten text
  • Automatic recognition of handwritten text in block letters
  • Automatic recognition of text written by hand
  • Advanced document search based on similarity of terms – not only exact matches are searched, but also words similar to the search term
  • Search not only based on the entered text, but also based on the image (the document searches for text visually similar to the entered image)
  • Specialized focus on the Czech language – recognition and search with regard to diacritics and the Czech dictionary

Application for digitization of handwritten fonts

Printed documents (such as books and newspapers) are usually digitized with textual information and allow direct text searches within the documents. , currently there is no such possibility for direct text searches within handwritten texts (eg. chronicles, diaries, notes). As a result, researchers spend hours physically looking through hundreds of pages of documents in search of information. Also there are not enough accurate and reliable tools for the automatic recognition of handwritten text.

Digitization of manuscripts using artificial intelligence

The inkCapture application radically changes the possibilities of digitizing historical handwritten documents.

Unique applications for handwritten text recognition

inkCapture aims to change this. Deploying modern machine learning and computer vision methods will enable automated text extraction from handwritten documents and fundamentally enhance the searchability of historical documents.

Using artificial intelligence

InkCapture uses machine learning methods and neural networks to enable the system to recognize handwriting in different styles. The system has the ability to learn. Its success rate is largely influenced by the amount of data on which it can train letter and word recognition in advance.

Search your collections

You can search all your collections. You can search not only on the basis of the text you enter, but also on the basis of an image. A key feature of the entire solution is the continuous learning and improvement of skills based on feedback from text recognition and search.

Access your documents from anywhere

Responsive design adapts to the display and allows you to browse manuscripts anytime, anywhere. You can access collections from your mobile or tablet. A mobile app will also be available soon.

We are teaching neurons to know manuscripts

We use municipal chronicles, archival documents and papers, private historical documents, handwritten records and similar items to teach the neural network as much as possible. We collaborate with academic and historical institutions to develop solutions. We are currently in the development phase. A demo version will be available from January 2022 in Czech language.

About the producer

The developer and supplier of InkCapture software is company EXON in cooperation with the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen (Czech Republic) and company Amitia.

EXON is one of the major companies in the field of digitization of cultural heritage in the Czech Republic. It deals with large-format scanning with subsequent software processing and generation of PSP packages.

EXON specializes in the installation of i2S book and large format scanners for libraries, museums and archives in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. During the cooperation, the company installed more than 80 scanning devices.