A survey for handwritten signature verification

Signature verification is the process used to recognize an individual´s handwritten signature. Signature verification can be divided into two main areas depending on the data acquisition method, off-line and on-line signature verification. In this paper we attempt to survey the signature verification based on three categories. First, judging from how to get the data signature which is off-line and on-line verification. Second, based on the technique used, that is rule-based approach, neural networks, hidden Markov model and support vector machine. Third, based on preprocessing and feature extraction, which is thinning and line segmentation. Based on the survey, it was concluded that any method of verification has advantages and disadvantages. However, if viewed from the ease of implementation and performance, using neural networks or hidden Markov models are the right choice. Depending on the data acquisition method, on-line verification is recommended to use than off-line verification.