An extended-shadow-code based approach for off-line signature verification. I. Evaluation of the bar mask definition

In this paper, the authors present an evaluation of the extended shadow code (ESC) used as a global feature vector for the signature verification problem. The proposed class of shape factors seems to be a good compromise between global features related to the general aspect of the signature, and local features related to measurements taken on specific parts of the signature. This is achieved by the bar mask definition, where at low resolution the ESC is related to the overall proportions of the signature. At high resolution, values of the horizontal, vertical and diagonal bars could be related to local measurements taken on specific parts of the signature without requiring low-level handwriting segmentation which is a very difficult task