Two-Dimensional Model of Hidden Markov Mesh

The new model proposed in this paper is the hidden Markov mesh model or the 2D HMM with the causality of top-down and left-right direction. With the addition of the causality constraint, two algorithms for the evaluation of a model and the maximum likelihood estimation of model parameters have been developed theoretically which are based on the forward-backward algorithm. It is a more natural extension of the 1D HMM than other 2D models. The proposed method will provide a useful way of modeling highly variable image patterns such as offline cursive characters.