diff --git a/doc/CMakeLists.txt b/doc/CMakeLists.txt
index 3d6e3950d1..7eaf62e379 100644
--- a/doc/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/doc/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -205,7 +205,7 @@ if(BUILD_DOCS AND DOXYGEN_FOUND)
     list(APPEND js_tutorials_assets_deps "${f}" "${opencv_tutorial_html_dir}/${fname}")
   endforeach()
 
-  add_custom_target(doxygen
+  add_custom_target(doxygen_cpp
     COMMAND ${DOXYGEN_EXECUTABLE} ${doxyfile}
     DEPENDS ${doxyfile} ${rootfile} ${bibfile} ${deps} ${js_tutorials_assets_deps}
   )
@@ -214,6 +214,28 @@ if(BUILD_DOCS AND DOXYGEN_FOUND)
     COMPONENT "docs" OPTIONAL
   )
 
+  if(BUILD_opencv_python2)
+    add_custom_target(doxygen_python
+      COMMAND ${PYTHON2_EXECUTABLE} "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/tools/python_signatures.py" "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/doxygen/html/"
+      DEPENDS doxygen_cpp opencv_python2
+    )
+    add_custom_target(doxygen
+      DEPENDS doxygen_cpp doxygen_python
+    )
+  elseif(BUILD_opencv_python3)
+    add_custom_target(doxygen_python
+      COMMAND ${PYTHON3_EXECUTABLE} "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/tools/python_signatures.py" "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/doxygen/html/"
+      DEPENDS doxygen_cpp opencv_python3
+    )
+    add_custom_target(doxygen
+      DEPENDS doxygen_cpp doxygen_python
+    )
+  else()
+    add_custom_target(doxygen
+      DEPENDS doxygen_cpp
+    )
+  endif()
+
   # Alias to build/install docs only
   add_custom_target(install_docs
       DEPENDS doxygen
diff --git a/doc/tools/html_functions.py b/doc/tools/html_functions.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..bf9577bad4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/tools/html_functions.py
@@ -0,0 +1,209 @@
+import logging
+import os
+import codecs
+import cv2
+
+
+try:
+    from bs4 import BeautifulSoup
+except ImportError:
+    raise ImportError('Error: '
+                      'Install BeautifulSoup (bs4) for adding'
+                      ' Python & Java signatures documentation')
+
+
+def is_not_module_link(tmp_link):
+    """ Checks if a link belongs to a c++ method """
+    if tmp_link is None:
+        return True
+    if "group" not in tmp_link:
+        return True
+    if "#" in tmp_link:
+        return True
+    return False
+
+
+def get_links_list(tmp_soup, filter_links):
+    """ Get a list of links from a soup """
+    tmp_href_list = []
+    for tmp_link in tmp_soup.findAll('a'):
+        tmp_href = tmp_link.get('href')
+        if filter_links:
+            if is_not_module_link(tmp_href):
+                continue
+        tmp_href_list.append(tmp_href)
+    return tmp_href_list
+
+
+def load_html_file(file_dir):
+    """ Uses BeautifulSoup to load an html """
+    with open(file_dir) as fp:
+        tmp_soup = BeautifulSoup(fp, 'html.parser')
+    return tmp_soup
+
+
+def add_item(tmp_soup, new_row, is_parameter, text):
+    """ Adds a new html tag for the table with the signature """
+    new_item = tmp_soup.new_tag('td')
+    if is_parameter:
+        new_item = tmp_soup.new_tag('td', **{'class': 'paramname'})
+    new_item.append(text)
+    new_row.append(new_item)
+    return new_row
+
+
+def get_text_between_substrings(sig, begin_char, end_char):
+    return sig.partition(begin_char)[-1].rpartition(end_char)[0]
+
+
+def add_signature_to_table(tmp_soup, new_row, signature, function_name, language, ident):
+    """ Add a signature to an html table"""
+    if ident:
+        new_item = tmp_soup.new_tag('td', style="padding-left: 0.5cm;")
+    else:
+        new_item = tmp_soup.new_tag('td')
+
+    if "-> None" in signature:
+        pass
+    elif "->" in signature:
+        new_item.append(signature.split("->", 1)[1] + ' =')
+        new_row.append(new_item)
+
+    if "Python" in language:
+        function_name = "cv2." + function_name
+    elif "Java" in language:
+        # get word before function_name (= output)
+        str_before_bracket = signature.split('(', 1)[0]
+        list_of_words = str_before_bracket.split()
+        output = list_of_words[len(list_of_words) - 2]
+        new_item.append(output + " ")
+        new_row.append(new_item)
+
+    new_row = add_item(tmp_soup, new_row, False, function_name + '(')
+    new_row = add_item(tmp_soup, new_row, True, get_text_between_substrings(signature, "(", ")"))
+    new_row = add_item(tmp_soup, new_row, False, ')')
+    return new_row
+
+
+def new_line(tmp_soup, tmp_table, new_row):
+    """ Adds a new line to the html table """
+    tmp_table.append(new_row)
+    new_row = tmp_soup.new_tag('tr')
+    return new_row
+
+
+def add_bolded(tmp_soup, new_row, text):
+    """ Adds bolded text to the table """
+    new_item = tmp_soup.new_tag('th', style="text-align:left")
+    new_item.append(text)
+    new_row.append(new_item)
+    return new_row
+
+
+def append_table_to(cpp_table, tmp_soup, language, signature, function_name):
+    """ Insert the new Python / Java table after the current html c++ table """
+    if signature != "":
+        tmp_table = tmp_soup.new_tag('table')
+        new_row = tmp_soup.new_tag('tr')
+        new_row = add_bolded(tmp_soup, new_row, language)
+        ident = False
+
+        if len(signature) > 120:
+            new_row = new_line(tmp_soup, tmp_table, new_row)
+            ident = True
+
+        if " or " in signature:
+            ident = True
+            for tmp_sig in signature.split(" or "):
+                new_row = new_line(tmp_soup, tmp_table, new_row)
+                new_row = add_signature_to_table(tmp_soup, new_row, tmp_sig, function_name, language, ident)
+                new_row = new_line(tmp_soup, tmp_table, new_row)
+        else:
+            new_row = add_signature_to_table(tmp_soup, new_row, signature, function_name, language, ident)
+            tmp_table.append(new_row)
+
+        cpp_table.insert_after(tmp_table)
+    return cpp_table
+
+
+def add_signatures(tmp_soup, tmp_dir, ADD_JAVA, ADD_PYTHON, module_name):
+    """ Add signatures to the current soup and rewrite the html file"""
+    logging.debug(tmp_dir)
+    sign_counter = 0
+    python_sign_counter = 0
+    java_sign_counter = 0
+
+    if ADD_JAVA:
+        functions_file = "java_doc_txts/" + module_name + "/functions.txt"
+        if os.path.exists(functions_file):
+            with open(functions_file, 'r') as f:
+                java_signatures = f.read().split("\n")
+        else:
+            ADD_JAVA = False # This C++ module (module_name) may not exist in Java
+
+    # the HTML tag & class being used to find functions
+    for function in tmp_soup.findAll("h2", {"class": "memtitle"}):
+        function_name = function.getText()
+        if os.name == 'nt': # if Windows
+            function_name = function_name.encode("ascii","ignore").decode()
+
+        # all functions have () in it's name
+        if "()" not in function_name:
+            continue
+
+        if "[" in function_name:
+            if "[1/" in function_name:
+                function_name = function_name.replace(' ', '')[:-7]
+            else:
+                continue
+        else:
+            function_name = function_name.replace(' ', '')[:-2]
+        sign_counter += 1
+
+        # if not Windows computer
+        if os.name != 'nt':
+            function_name = function_name.replace(' ', '')[2:]
+
+        cpp_table = function.findNext('table')
+
+        if ADD_PYTHON:
+            try:
+                print(function_name)
+                method = getattr(cv2, str(function_name))
+                description = str(method.__doc__).split("\n")
+                signature = ""
+                is_first_sig = True
+                for line in description:
+                    if line.startswith(".") or line == "":
+                        continue
+                    else:
+                        if is_first_sig:
+                            signature += line
+                            is_first_sig = False
+                        else:
+                            signature += " or " + line
+
+                cpp_table = append_table_to(cpp_table, tmp_soup, "Python:", signature, function_name)
+                python_sign_counter += 1
+            except AttributeError:
+                continue
+
+        if ADD_JAVA:
+            for signature in java_signatures:
+                if function_name in signature:
+                    append_table_to(cpp_table, tmp_soup, "Java:", signature, function_name)
+                    java_sign_counter += 1
+                    break
+
+    tmp_str = str(tmp_soup)
+    if os.name == 'nt': # if Windows
+        with open(tmp_dir, "wb") as tmp_file:
+            tmp_file.write(tmp_str.encode("ascii","ignore"))
+    else:
+        with open(tmp_dir, "w") as tmp_file:
+            tmp_file.write(tmp_str)
+
+    logging.debug("Added [" + str(python_sign_counter) + \
+                  "/" + str(sign_counter) + "] Python signatures")
+    logging.debug("Added [" + str(java_sign_counter) + \
+                  "/" + str(sign_counter) + "] Java signatures")
diff --git a/doc/tools/python_signatures.py b/doc/tools/python_signatures.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..34ea3229bd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/tools/python_signatures.py
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+"""
+This code adds Python signatures to the docs.
+
+TODO:
+* clarify when there are several C++ signatures corresponding to a single Python function.
+    i.e: calcHist():
+    http://docs.opencv.org/3.2.0/d6/dc7/group__imgproc__hist.html#ga4b2b5fd75503ff9e6844cc4dcdaed35d
+* clarify special case:
+    http://docs.opencv.org/3.2.0/db/de0/group__core__utils.html#ga4910d7f86336cd4eff9dd05575667e41
+"""
+import re
+import sys
+import html_functions
+
+ADD_JAVA = False
+ADD_PYTHON = True
+ROOT_DIR = sys.argv[1]
+
+soup = html_functions.load_html_file(ROOT_DIR + "index.html")
+href_list = html_functions.get_links_list(soup, True)
+
+for link in href_list:
+    # add python signatures to the module
+    soup = html_functions.load_html_file(ROOT_DIR + link)
+    sub_href_list = html_functions.get_links_list(soup, True)
+    module_name = html_functions.get_text_between_substrings(link, "group__", ".html")
+    html_functions.add_signatures(soup, ROOT_DIR + link, ADD_JAVA, ADD_PYTHON, module_name)
+
+    # add python signatures to the sub-modules
+    link = re.sub(r"group__.+html", "", link)
+    for sub_link in sub_href_list:
+        tmp_dir = ROOT_DIR + link + sub_link
+        soup = html_functions.load_html_file(tmp_dir)
+        html_functions.add_signatures(soup, tmp_dir, ADD_JAVA, ADD_PYTHON, module_name)