Stroke based skeletonizer

A non-transitory computer readable medium (CRM) storing computer readable program code for processing a stroke in an image, the stroke comprising a plurality of pixels, embodied therein that:

• executes a modified 4-way stroke width transform (SWT) on a mask of the stroke;
• determines a plurality of certain centerline points among the pixels based on the modified SWT;
• generates a plurality of polylines within the stroke based on the certain centerline points, wherein each of the polylines is formed of contiguous certain centerline points;
• determines a plurality of regions of certainty based on the polylines;
• removes the regions of certainty from the mask and leaves a plurality of regions of uncertainty in the mask;
• calculates a plurality of joints and end caps for each of the polylines based on the polylines and the regions of uncertainty;
• generates a completed polyline path by connecting the polylines based on the joints and end caps;
• and
• generates a description of the stroke based on the completed polyline path.

A system for processing a stroke in an image, the stroke comprising a plurality of pixels, the system comprising:

• a memory;
• a computer processor connected to the memory that:
• executes a modified 4-way stroke width transform (SWT) on a mask of the stroke;
• determines a plurality of certain centerline points among the pixels based on the modified SWT;
• generates a plurality of polylines within the stroke based on the certain centerline points, wherein each of the polylines is formed of contiguous certain centerline points;
• determines a plurality of regions of certainty based on the polylines;
• removes the regions of certainty from the mask and leaves a plurality of regions of uncertainty in the mask;
• calculates a plurality of joints and end caps for each of the polylines based on the polylines and the regions of uncertainty;
• generates a completed polyline path by connecting the polylines based on the joints and end caps;
• and
• generates a description of the stroke based on the completed polyline path.