The EMNIST dataset is a set of handwritten character digits derived from the NIST Special Database 19 and converted to a 28x28 pixel image format and dataset structure that directly matches the MNIST dataset . Further information on the dataset contents and conversion process can be found in the paper available at here.

Dataset Summary

There are six different splits provided in this dataset. A short summary of the dataset is provided below:

• EMNIST ByClass: 814,255 characters. 62 unbalanced classes.
• EMNIST ByMerge: 814,255 characters. 47 unbalanced classes.
• EMNIST Balanced: 131,600 characters. 47 balanced classes.
• EMNIST Letters: 145,600 characters. 26 balanced classes.
• EMNIST Digits: 280,000 characters. 10 balanced classes.
• EMNIST MNIST: 70,000 characters. 10 balanced classes.

The full complement of the NIST Special Database 19 is available in the ByClass and ByMerge splits. The EMNIST Balanced dataset contains a set of characters with an equal number of samples per class. The EMNIST Letters dataset merges a balanced set of the uppercase and lowercase letters into a single 26-class task. The EMNIST Digits and EMNIST MNIST dataset provide balanced handwritten digit datasets directly compatible with the original MNIST dataset.

Please refer to the EMNIST paper [PDF, BIB]for further details of the dataset structure.