Automatic Recognition of Road Signs by Hough Transform: Road-GIS

The problem of road sign detection and recognition is very important in many practical problems, above all for road cadastral authorities. In this sense, an automatic application able to identify the kind of a road sign starting from common imageries such as photos could be very helpful. The main difficulty is due to a possible poor graphical definition of the imagery. In this case, a valid support can be provided by the use of Hough Transform. This paper is an evolution of a previous article, where new perspectives and examples about the development of a GIS oriented to the road cadastre management are analyzed, in order to improve and refine the methodology for an implementation of an effective, automatic, robust and reliable decision system to support technicians. It is based on the use of the Standard Hough Transform in order to detect the shape, i.e. the macro-class, of road sign (e.g. circular, squared, triangular, etc.). Subsequently, the road sign characterization has been refined by using the generalization of the Hough Transform in order to detect the specific sign within its previously established macro-class.