Introduction
It is known as Optical Character Recognition technique, also known as OCR is in use for quite some time. Have you ever considered the exact method by which a machine can recognize printed or handwritten characters and then efficiently processes these characters? Below , we will provide an outline of OCR algorithms ' working processes and discuss the benefits this technology could provide to businesses.
What is OCR?
In accordance with the most popular definition the most common definition, optical character recognition is the electronic conversion of printed, typed or handwritten text to machine-readable text. Examples include processing roads signs, handwritten documents, or photographs. OCR technology could greatly benefit certain businesses, particularly ones that have a large amount of printed or handwritten copies.
OCR use cases
Industries that stand to gain the most from the application of OCR technology are legal, banking, as well as healthcare. They all require extensive printing or handwritten document (cheques to be used for banking transactions, medical records for healthcare, and all documents printed on paper in legal institutions) and , therefore, using OCR Datasets will not only increase the accuracy to the processing of data but also make it more efficient and significantly more efficient. Additionally, OCR can be successfully employed for supply chain management, since it is possible to program the OCR tool to scan barcodes, and also recognize the expiration date, serial number and similar kinds of information.
A different common use using OCR technology is that OCR technology is to recognize license plates. Utilizing this technology is a huge advantage for police departments because it allows for instant search of the required vehicle, and removes the requirement to search manually through the records.
The behind-stage of OCR algorithms How do they function?
There are many steps in the optical recognition of characters. Let's take a look at each step of the process and discover how precisely algorithms can recognize text.
Image pre-processing
Before taking a look at the image and the information that it holds The OCR tool has to first "clean" the image in order to enhance recognition and also make the text easier to read. The pre-processing process can include:
- Image alignment: If the image appears tilted or not aligned properly it will be aligned by the program it to make the lines of text 100% vertical and/or horizontal.
- Image despeckling, also known as getting rid of negative and positive spots, and making edges smoother.
- Line cleaning: getting rid of lines and/or non-glyph box.
- Image zoning: The software will detect paragraphs and columns as blocks and utilize them to recognize to the appropriate.
- Binarization: when the image has been cleared, the program will transform it into in black-and-white (binary) to make it easier to recognize of characters.
Binary matrix creation
When the image has been "cleaned" from clutter and can be read more easily then it is then the OCR software will carry out feature extraction or real-time character recognition. The software will do this by either analyzing distinct strokes and lines to determine characters or by identifying the whole character in one go.
Have we talked about the binarization? If the image is black and white the software will be able to identify white (white) areas as well as black areas (which constitute a part in the image). The image is then transformed to a binary matrix in which black pixels will have 1s while white pixels are zeros. Then, the program will employ the formula for distance to determine the distance between the center of the matrix and the furthest 1s.
This is necessary to form an arc of the specified radius, which can later be divided in smaller pieces. This way each segment will be comprised of the same number of zeros and 1s. The software will then be able to examine each segment against the ones in the database, and determine the character that is corresponding to it.
Verification
There is a vast range of styles of writing and fonts that a computer could make mistakes when recognition of the characters. This is why it's essential to verify the post-processing process and then either verify that the character is recognized or send feed adjustments to the computer to further improve its learning.
The advantages of OCR for businesses
There are many tangible advantages which optical recognition could offer to a company. Here we will discuss the top benefits of using OCR technology into your business processes.
Problems with storage solved
Physical storage mediums like paper files typically take up plenty of space in storage. It's also difficult to categorize and organize them, particularly if there are a lot of documents. With the help of OCR technology it is possible to transform all physical files to electronic records and then store these in cloud storage (or any other storage option you prefer). It is also possible to use Dataset For Machine Learning or automation to organize and sort your documents electronically and reduce the amount of time.
Higher security
Documents stored in electronic format not only improves efficiency and speed, but increases the security of your data. Although physical storage is able to be accessed or stolen easily, it is significantly more difficult to gain access to cloud storage. So, by changing your documents to electronic formats and securing them dramatically. Don't overlook the secure and reliable backups you can make for your documents that are electronic.
Searchability and accessibility are high.
It's probably not very comfortable searching through large volumes of paper-based files, even when they're well organized. With online storage devices, the process can be done in only a few clicks. it's not necessary to mention how effective and time-saving it can be.
The OCR technology lets you convert your documents' physical files to any suitable format. So your documents are instantly searchable and searchable, and you can access the required information anytime.
GTS Gives You OCR Training Dataset
Global Technology Solutions (GTS) OCR has got your business covered. With its remarkable accuracy of more than 90% and fast real-time results, GTS helps businesses automate their data extraction processes. In mere seconds, the banking industry, e-commerce, digital payment services, Image Data Collection, AI Training Dataset, Data Annotation Services and many more can pull out the user information from any type of document by taking advantage of OCR technology. This reduces the overhead of manual data entry and time taking tasks of data collection.
