Synthetic signature generation for automatic signature verification

Abstract

As a bridge between synthesis of biometric data and human modeling, innovative methods are addressed in this dissertation to generate synthetic handwriting signatures following the insights learnt from the motor equivalence theory. As such, in this Thesis several procedures are proposed to generate i) fully synthetic signature databases and ii) duplicated signatures from a single real specimen. The goal of the proposed methods is to verify whether the generated signatures are able to introduce realistic intra and inter-personal variability in signature-based biometric systems as well as to certify their human-like appearance. For these purposes, machine-oriented and human-oriented evaluations are discussed in the frameworks used in this document.

Learning to write is complex and usually starts with lines and scribbles. Before reaching a mature handwriting, children start to know the letters’ shapes and their sequence, although the children’s motor control is not yet accurate. Modeling this behavior in a mathematically way would allow to understand the mechanical processes from the initial thought of signing to its complete fulfillment.