The role of document analysis and understanding in multi-media information systems

One obstacle for introducing a general and homogeneous information system is the lack of possibilities for combining the information processing capabilities of the electronic medium and traditional ways in which information is generated, interchanged, categorized, processed or stored. In this context, document analysis and understanding technology seems to be the key to overcome this problem. An overview of efforts focusing on the integration of document analysis and understanding techniques into active interfaces for multimedia information systems is given. Moreover, the role and the potential of this technology are outlined using sample application scenarios