Document image retrieval without OCRing using a video scanning system

We propose a technique for efficient document retrieval from digital libraries containing document images which are compressed with token based compression. The technique we propose uses the layout information supplied by the relative positions of the character tokens on the page of a 'query' paper document to retrieve the original document in the image database. The query image is captured from a paper document by a multimedia system composed of a PC and a video scanning tool. This technique avoids OCRing the query document and the documents in the database; moreover avoidsdecompressing the documents in the database compressed with token based compression, therefore achieving important time and computational gains. The technique provides one with the capability of retrieving the original document stored in a digital library using part of a previously produced paper copy