Reading and learning

The volume of information inundating individuals in both professional and personal spheres has surged dramatically over the past decade. Paper documents are doubling every four years, while the data stored on various carriers increases every six years. In contrast, the growth of new knowledge is significantly slower. Consequently, the ability to automatically recognize content across different media and process documents is becoming increasingly vital. Efficient information management—accessing the right data at the right time—represents a critical asset for enterprises, especially small- and medium-sized businesses. The European market for document management systems, valued at around 5 billion euros in 2000, is expected to grow considerably in the coming years. Recognizing this trend, the BMBF initiated efforts as early as 1995 to consolidate national expertise in this area, supporting research on automatic information processing through a major collaborative project (READ) involving both industry and research institutions. The evaluation of these efforts confirmed their success, leading to further funding for the follow-up project Adaptive READ from 1999 to 2003. The outcomes of these significant long-term research initiatives have greatly enhanced the capabilities for recognizing and processing handwritten, printed, and electronic documents.