Document image binarization is an important step in the document image analysis and recognition pipeline. In this respect, it is imperative to have a benchmarking dataset along with an objective evaluation methodology to capture the efficiency of current document image binarization methodologies. Following the success of DIBCO series (DIBCO 2009 organised in conjunction with ICDAR'09, H-DIBCO 2010 organized in conjunction with ICFHR 2010, DIBCO 2011 organised in conjunction with ICDAR'11 and H-DIBCO 2012 organized in conjunction with ICFHR 2012) the follow-up of this contest aims to be organised in conjuction with ICDAR 2013.

In DIBCO 2013, the general objective is to record recent advances in document image binarization using established evaluation performance measures. The benchmarking dataset that will be used in the contest will augment the existing dataset of the DIBCO series containing both machine printed and handwritten document images that are representative of the potential problems which are challenging in the binarization process.

All researchers in the field of Document Image Binarization are invited to register for participating in DIBCO 2013. An agreement will be signed by the participants and the organizers in order to protect the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) of the submitted software. The description of the methods and the evaluation scores will be presented during a dedicated ICDAR 2013 session. A report on the competition will be published in the ICDAR 2013 conference proceedings. At the end of the competition, the testing dataset along with the required program to run the evaluation measures will become publicly available.

NOTE : You may participate in this contest even if you do not plan to attend the ICDAR 2013 conference.